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Third place will be up for grabs when Croatia take on Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Saturday. Croatia’s hopes of making a second straight appearance in the championship match were squashed as they suffered a 3-0 loss against Argentina in the semifinals. Morocco’s dream of a title came to an end against defending champion France, who posted a 2-0 victory in the semis. The sides began the tournament with a 0-0 draw in their group-stage opener.
Kickoff at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar is set for 10 a.m. ET. The Croatians are +135 favorites (risk $100 to win $135) on the 90-minute money line in the latest Croatia vs. Morocco odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the Moroccans are +200 underdogs. A draw is priced at +230 and the over/under for total goals is set at 2.5. Croatia are -137 to win, while Morocco are priced at +100. Before locking in any Morocco vs. Croatia picks, you need to see the World Cup predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s soccer simulation model.
The SportsLine soccer simulation model evaluates a team’s offensive and defensive capabilities based on the game situation. Then, it assigns a grade using an expected payout-to-probability ratio. The model was accurate on 56% of all picks during the Champions League group stage and returned more than $1,000 to $100 bettors on its A+ picks. It also entered the World Cup semifinals on a 33-15-4 run on spread picks, returning almost $1,500 for $100 bettors. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has analyzed the Croatia vs. Morocco matchup from every angle and just locked in its picks and World Cup predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the betting lines and trends for Morocco vs. Croatia:
- Morocco vs. Croatia spread: Croatia -0.5 (+125)
- Morocco vs. Croatia over/under: 2.5 goals
- Morocco vs. Croatia 90-minute money line: Croatia +135, Morocco +200, Draw +230
- Morocco vs. Croatia to win: Croatia -137, Morocco +100
- CRO: The Croatians have allowed five goals in the knockout stage after yielding just one in the group stage
- MOR: The Moroccans recorded eight shots (two on target) against Croatia in their group-stage match
- Morocco vs. Croatia picks: See picks here
Featured Game | Croatia vs. Morocco
Why you should back Croatia
The Croatians already know they can stifle Morocco’s offense after posting a clean sheet in their group-stage matchup. The more difficult task will be generating offense of their own as they’ve recorded only six goals in the tournament, with four coming in a group-stage victory against Canada. Forward Andrej Kramaric leads Croatia with two tallies, both of which were scored versus the Canadians, while winger Ivan Perisic has registered a goal and two assists.
Croatia will be happy to settle the match on penalties as they got past two opponents in that fashion during the knockout stage. They outscored Japan 3-1 and Brazil 4-2 in shootouts, with midfielder Nikola Vlasic converting in each victory. Playing in his fourth and likely last World Cup, 37-year-old midfielder Luka Modric would love to record at least one goal as he has yet to score in this year’s tournament and has netted only two tallies in 18 career matches in the competition.
Why you should back Morocco
With the exception of their loss to France, the Moroccans have been superb defensively for months. The club posted clean sheets in five of six matches across all competitions prior to the World Cup, then allowed just an own goal over its first five games of the tournament. No team that advanced to the knockout stage has permitted fewer tallies than Morocco, with only Brazil giving up the same amount (three).
Leading Morocco in scoring is Youssef En-Nesyri, who has recorded two goals in six matches. The 25-year-old forward, who scored in his only appearance during the 2018 tournament, notched the decisive goal in the team’s 2-1 victory against Canada in the group stage and netted the lone tally in the 1-0 quarterfinal triumph over Portugal. Midfielder Hakim Ziyech has registered a goal and an assist for the Moroccans and also converted his penalty kick during their shootout win versus Spain in the Round of 16.
How to make Croatia vs. Morocco picks
The model has taken an in-depth look at the Morocco vs. Croatia match from every angle and is leaning Under on the total. It also has a pick on one side that has all the value. You can only get the model’s World Cup picks at SportsLine.
Where does all the betting value lie for the Croatia vs. Morocco matchup on Saturday? And which side has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side to back in the Morocco vs. Croatia third-place match on Saturday, all from the model that hit 56% of its Champions League picks, and find out.
