2018 World Cup Odds and Prediction: Morocco Team Betting Preview

The Atlas Lions were the first African nation to advance to the last 16 at a World Cup and an impressive qualification round has some pundits wondering if they could upset Portugal in Group B.

2018 Morocco World Cup Betting Odds

Odds to advance to knockout stages: +400
Odds to win the World Cup: +43,400
Number of World Cup wins: 1
FIFA world ranking: No. 42
Manager: Herve Renard
Captain: Medhi Benatia

Morocco Players to Watch

Benatia is a veteran central defender and starred at some of the biggest clubs in the world. He was a key member of Serie A champions Juventus last season and played before at Roma and Bayern Munich. Morocco will likely concede possession for most of their matches against Spain and Portugal – which means Benatia and his teammates will have to soak up the pressure.

Expect central attacking mid Hakim Zijech to be in the middle of any and all goal-scoring opportunities for the Atlas Lions. He was one of the key figures behind Ajax’s run to the Europa League final in 2017 and Roma are rumoured to be interested in making a bid for his services.

Morocco World Cup Formation and Projected Starting 11

Renard sets up his team in a 4-5-1 formation with Benatia leading the backline. Wolverhampton CB Romain Saiss is Benatia’s partner in central defence while Real Madrid squad player Achraf Hakimi and Fenerbahce’s Nabil Dirar are the starting the fullbacks.

Bettors should expect to see Mbark Boussoufa and Karim El Ahmadi manning the middle of the park with Younes Belhanda, Nordin Amrabat and Hakim Ziyech in advanced midfield roles. Khalid Boutaib has the inside track to start in the No. 9 role for Morocco.

Morocco Strengths

There were few teams organized as well as Morocco in the qualifications. The Atlas Lions have allowed just 11 goals in 23 matches over the last two years. They’re a well-drilled group that is tactically sound at the back.

Morocco Weaknesses

Scoring goals will be a challenge for this group. Boutaib scored 12 goals in 31 appearances this year for Yeni Malatyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig, but he’ll find the competition level much higher playing against the likes of Spain and Portugal. Set pieces might be the best way for Morocco to get on the score sheet.

Morocco News

The Atlas Lions are being praised by the Spanish media following their come-from-behind win over Slovakia in a friendly last week. Group B is being called the Group of Death because of Morocco’s chances of potentially upsetting either Spain or Portugal in the group stage.

Morocco Betting Predictions

Betting the under in World Cup matches involving Morocco is a logical move. They’ve kept clean sheets in five of their last eight matches heading into the World Cup and Renard is considered a conservative manager who preaches proper defensive positioning.

They should be able to top Iran and will hope for a draw against either Spain or Portugal. Don’t expect to see the team advance to the knockout stages.