Morocco vs. Portugal Prediction

• Where: Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar
• When: Saturday, December 10, 6 pm local time

Morocco is the tournament’s biggest surprise, as they not only progressed to the knockout stage from one of the toughest groups in the World Cup but also due to the success in the Round of 16. Meanwhile, Portugal was expected to be here, though just a few expected to see them be so confident without Ronaldo. It turns out that Selecao has much more options without United’s superstar than with him on the field. 

Morocco vs. Portugal Preview

Morocco

The team from the north of Africa didn’t lose in the last eleven matches, winning eight and posting three draws. Throughout that stretch, Morocco met teams like Chile, Paraguay, Croatia, Belgium, Canada and, at last Spain.

The Moroccan team allowed the Red Fury to have possession and pass unlimitedly while on the other side, they waited for a chance to strike from the counter-attack. And on two occasions, they were near scoring.

In the end, Bono came up as the hero, stopping three penalties, eliminating the country where he resides right now, and it will be very interesting to see the reactions once he returns to Seville. Also, Bono and the defense are the strongest links of the Moroccan crew, as they posted eight clean sheets throughout the defeatless streak. 

Portugal

Ronaldo was left on the bench, which was a jackpot. The Swiss team prepared their entire game plan focusing on stopping Cristiano, and when Portugal appeared without him, Switzerland was confused and lost.

Ramos, Cristiano’s replacement, shocked everyone by netting three goals and completely demolishing the rival’s defense. Portugal looks much more fluid without Ronaldo, who always slows down the pace once getting the ball.

Selecao has been very efficient lately, winning four of the past five games, and scoring at least two goals in all those triumphs. After beating Nigeria 4-0, they were better than Ghana, 3-2, Uruguay, 2-0, and lost to South Korea, 2-1, before smashing Switzerland 6-1.

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Morocco vs. Portugal Possible Lineups

Morocco: Bounou; Hakimi, Aguerd, Saiss, Mazraoui; Ounahi, Amrabat, Amallah; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal

Portugal: Costa; Dalot, Pepe, Dias, Gurreiro; B. Silva, Carvalho, Otavio; Fernandes; Felix, Ramos

Morocco vs. Portugal Head to Head

Morocco and Portugal met four years ago in Russia, and Portugal won 1-0, which was eventually the difference-maker that eliminated the Moroccans from the tournament. Ronaldo scored the only goal in the 4th minute. 

Previously, we saw them meeting in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where Morocco beat the Portuguese unit 3-1.

Morocco vs. Portugal Prediction

Experience is on the side of Portugal, which Morocco doesn’t have. Also, we think that most of the teams in the World Cup aren’t ready to compete with Portugal without Ronaldo because they didn’t have the time to adapt to the new circumstances. That’s why we pick Selecao to win.

Our pick: Portugal wins

Morocco vs. Portugal Odds

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