π° Table Of Contents
Croatia vs Morocco
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The third-place play-off; the World Cup match no nation ever wants to be involved in.
Although, in this incident, given that itβs two teams who, to varying degrees, have exceeded expectations in Qatar, both will be desperate to claim bronze medals.
From 1978 onwards, the third-place matches have produced 41 goals, an average of 3.7 per game.
Both teams have scored in eight of these 11 fixtures with, 20 years ago, Hakan ΕΓΌkΓΌr netting the World Cupβs fastest-ever goal, clocked at 10.8 seconds, as TΓΌrkiye beat Korea Republic 3-2.
However, just 24 days ago, Morocco and Croatia played out a goalless draw at Al-Bayt Stadium, in a leading contender for most boring game of the tournament.
So, itβs hard to know what to expect from this one, but it seems likely that there will be little to separate these two.
Secondary tip of the day
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In World Cup history, if any losing semi-finalists have been determined to finish third, itβll be this Moroccan outfit.
Walid Regraguiβs team have become Africaβs first-ever semi-finalists, beating Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route.
However, with both first-choice centre-backs Nayef Aguerd and Romain SaΓ―ss injured, the Atlas Lions looked out on their feet in Wednesdayβs narrow defeat to France.
So, Moroccoβs best hope of victory in this match will surely be to start fast and score first, something they managed in all their victories in Qatar.
Croatia meantime conceded first against Canada, Japan and Brazil, but still won all of those matches, the latter two in a shootout.
Thus, backing the North African side to break the deadlock at 6/5 could represent good value.
Goalscorer tip of the day
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If Morocco are going to win this game, Youssef En-Nesyri is likely to be a key contributor.
His towering header was enough in the quarter-finals as the Atlas Lions edged out Portugal.
So, the 25 year old has scored at two different World Cups and three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, with seven of his 17 international goals (41%) coming at major tournaments.
