World Cup Round of 16: Morocco vs. Spain Preview, Odds, Prediction

We have Morocco and Spain in the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Now that isn’t odd, but what is, is that Morocco comes into this matchup as the group winner and Spain as the second-placed. Though, it needs to be said that the Spanish team wanted this to happen and that Luis Enrique deliberately chose this opponent and this part of the draw. The Moroccans don’t care about any of those things, they just want to see the second stage and reach elimination.

Preview

Morocco (+600) defeated Belgium and Canada, packing two goals to both teams, following a goalless draw against Croatia in the opener. The Africans have been very good in the group stage, though, against Canada, we’ve seen them inferior in the last 30, 35 minutes, as they defended.

That is probably the best skill of this team, defense. They are disciplined in the back line and the midfielders are constantly helping, neglecting the attack in situations when rivals attack.

But once they get possession of the ball, Morocco is very fast in transition, and that is because of Ziyech and Hakimi who are fast and creative in those situations. Morocco usually has a defensive-minded approach, trying to protect its own goal, and then attack.

Spain (-190) lost to Japan, 2-1, after leading at halftime. Now we can have a debate whether they wanted this or not, but our opinion is that the Red Fury decided to pick the easier part of the draw and avoid a potential clash with Brazil in the quarterfinals. That’s it, we said that.

They controlled the match well in the opening 45 minutes, yet after that allowed two goals, of which one was illegal, because the ball was in goal out, and until the rest of the game, they calmly played without some significant pressure.

Red Fury is extremely well in all areas on the pitch, having maybe the best chemistry of all the teams in the championship. Even Alvaro Morata began playing well and scoring goals, with the striker netting in each game so far in Qatar.

Latest News

Morocco is free of any suspensions in this one, and as for the injuries, there isn’t any news about them at the moment.

Spain is also without suspended players. Regarding injury, their report is empty for the moment.

Head to Head Games

Four years ago, these two teams were in the same group in Russia and played 2-2. Iago Aspas scored a game-tying goal in the first minute of the injury time, propelling the Spanish team to the knockout stage.

Prediction

We respect Morocco, but they won’t be able to handle Spain, who is devastating in the midfield and apparently has a formula for teams like these who love to defend. We predict that the Red Fury will win and go to the quarterfinals.

Pick: Spain wins -190 

 

Check out for our other World Cup Round of 16 previews:

• Japan vs. Croatia
• England vs. Senegal
• Brazil vs. South Korea