FIFA World Cup – Group B – Matchday 2 of 3 – Portugal v Morocco – Preview & Betting Tips

The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group B fixture between Portugal and Morocco. The game kicks off on the 20th of June at 10:00 PM AEST. The fixture will be broadcast live on SBS.

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Portugal

Portugal

  • FIFA World Rank: 4
  • Elo Rating: 6
  • Qualifying: Won Group B with a 9-0-1 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification.

Squad:

  • Coach: Fernando Santos
  • Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Beto (Goztepe), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon)
  • Defenders: Bruno Alves (Rangers), Cedric Soares (Southampton), Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang), Mario Rui (Napoli), Pepe (Besiktas), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Ricardo Pereira (Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica)
  • Midfielders: Adrien Silva (Leicester), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon), Joao Mario (West Ham), Joao Moutinho (AS Monaco), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv Moscow), William Carvalho (Sporting)
  • Forwards: Andre Silva (AC Milan), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)

Recent results:

  • Portugal 3 – 3 Spain
    15/06/2018
    FIFA World Cup, played in Russia
  • Portugal 3 – 0 Algeria
    07/06/2018
    Friendly, played in Portugal
  • Belgium 0 – 0 Portugal
    02/06/2018
    Friendly, played in Belgium
  • Portugal 2 – 2 Tunisia
    28/05/2018
    Friendly, played in Portugal
  • Portugal 0 – 3 Netherlands
    26/03/2018
    Friendly, played in Switzerland
  • Portugal 2 – 1 Egypt
    23/03/2018
    Friendly, played in Switzerland
  • Portugal 1 – 1 USA
    14/11/2017
    Friendly, played in Portugal
  • Portugal 3 – 0 Saudi Arabia
    10/11/2017
    Friendly, played in Portugal
  • Portugal 2 – 0 Switzerland
    10/10/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Portugal
  • Andorra 0 – 2 Portugal
    07/10/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Andorra
  • Hungary 0 – 1 Portugal
    03/09/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Hungary
  • Portugal 5 – 1 Faroe Islands
    31/08/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Portugal

Statistics: (last four years):

  • H2H Record: 34-11-10
  • O/U record
    • O/U 0.5 record: 52-3
    • O/U 1.5 record: 37-18
    • O/U 2.5 record: 28-27
    • O/U 3.5 record: 15-40
    • O/U 4.5 record: 10-45
    • O/U 5.5 record: 6-49
  • Wins
    • Total wins: 34
    • Won by 1 goal: 17
    • Won by 2 goals: 4
    • Won by 3 goals: 6
    • Won by 4 goals: 3
    • Won by 5 goals: 1
    • Won by 5+ goals: 3
    • Won to nil 25
  • Losses
    • Total losses: 10
    • Lost by 1 goal: 7
    • Lost by 2 goals: 2
    • Lost by 3 goals: 1
    • Lost by 4 goals: 0
    • Lost by 5 goals: 0
    • Lost by 5+ goals: 0
    • Lost to nil 8
  • Clean Sheets and BTTS
    • Total Games: 55
    • Clean Sheets: 28
    • Held Scoreless: 11
    • Both Teams Scored: 19
Morocco

Morocco

  • FIFA World Rank: 41
  • Elo Rating: 36
  • Qualifying: Won Group C with a 3-3-0 record in the CAF Third Round.

Squad:

  • Coach: Hervé Renard (France)
  • Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)
  • Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir), Badr Benoun (Raja Casablanca), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (LOSC)
  • Midfielders: M'barek Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke 04)
  • Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (Saint Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax)

Recent results:

  • Morocco 0 – 1 Iran
    15/06/2018
    FIFA World Cup, played in Russia
  • Estonia 1 – 3 Morocco
    09/06/2018
    Friendly, played in Estonia
  • Slovakia 1 – 2 Morocco
    04/06/2018
    Friendly, played in Switzerland
  • Ukraine 0 – 0 Morocco
    31/05/2018
    Friendly, played in Switzerland
  • Morocco 2 – 0 Uzbekistan
    27/03/2018
    Friendly, played in Morocco
  • Serbia 1 – 2 Morocco
    23/03/2018
    Friendly, played in Italy
  • Ivory Coast 0 – 2 Morocco
    11/11/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Ivory Coast
  • South Korea 1 – 3 Morocco
    10/10/2017
    Friendly, played in Switzerland
  • Morocco 3 – 0 Gabon
    07/10/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Morocco
  • Mali 0 – 0 Morocco
    05/09/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Mali
  • Morocco 6 – 0 Mali
    01/09/2017
    WC qualifiers, played in Morocco
  • Cameroon 1 – 0 Morocco
    10/06/2017
    African Cup of Nations qualification, played in Cameroon

Statistics: (last four years):

  • H2H Record: 29-10-10
  • O/U record
    • O/U 0.5 record: 42-7
    • O/U 1.5 record: 29-20
    • O/U 2.5 record: 20-29
    • O/U 3.5 record: 10-39
    • O/U 4.5 record: 4-45
    • O/U 5.5 record: 2-47
  • Wins
    • Total wins: 29
    • Won by 1 goal: 9
    • Won by 2 goals: 9
    • Won by 3 goals: 6
    • Won by 4 goals: 3
    • Won by 5 goals: 1
    • Won by 5+ goals: 1
    • Won to nil 19
  • Losses
    • Total losses: 10
    • Lost by 1 goal: 10
    • Lost by 2 goals: 0
    • Lost by 3 goals: 0
    • Lost by 4 goals: 0
    • Lost by 5 goals: 0
    • Lost by 5+ goals: 0
    • Lost to nil 9
  • Clean Sheets and BTTS
    • Total Games: 49
    • Clean Sheets: 26
    • Held Scoreless: 16
    • Both Teams Scored: 14


Commentary

Portugal got their World Cup campaign off to a solid start with a 3-3 draw against Spain. Christiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick that an included an 88th minute goal to secure the draw. It was an excellent result given Spain’s dominance of the game, tarnished only by the fact that Iran picked up 3 points against Morocco. The key talking point was Ronaldo’s performance. In one match he equaled his entire haul in three previous tournaments. Without him Portugal certainly would have lost the game. The draw extends Portugal’s strong run of form since winning Euro 2016. They have gone 14-5-2 since the tournament and Portugal have lost only one of their last twenty games coming into this clash. In team news, Portugal have no injury concerns but are expected to tweak the squad that drew Spain, with pundits predicting that winger Bruno Fernandes will be dropped in favour of either Gelson Martins or Joao Mario.

Morocco got their campaign off to a bad start, losing 1-0 to fellow minnow Iran. This was despite having 68% of the possession, which was the most by a losing team in a World Cup match since June 2010. It was a cruel result given Iran failed to achieve a single shot in the second half, but won courtesy of a 95th minute Moroccan own goal. The defeat ended a 10-game unbeaten streak and it likely derailed Morocco’s chances of reaching the Round of 16. In team news, Morocco have an injury headache at right-back, with Nordin Amrabat ruled out with concussion while Nabil Dirar remains sidelined with a knee injury.

Betting

bet365 odds (subject to change):

Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Portugal vs. Morocco

The only previous meeting between the two sides came at the 1986 World Cup, which Morocco won 3-1. They will be hard pressed to repeat that feat, however, given Portugal have not lost to a non-European nation at the World Cup since losing to South Korea in 2002 (5-3-0 record since then). Morocco should be no easy beats, however, given defence is their strength. They’ve only lost 1 of their last 11 games and they won their qualifying group without conceding a goal. Since a 2-1 defeat against the Netherlands last year, none of Morocco’s subsequent 20 opponents have managed to score more than once. You have to go back to 2014 for the last time Morocco were defeated by more than 1 goal. Another interesting stat is 9 of Morocco’s 10 defeats over the last 4 years were to nil (a 1-0 scoreline).

Betting tip: back Morocco +1.5 in the Asian Handicap at 1.47 (bet365) and back Portugal to win 1-0 at 6.80 (Betfair)

Notes

 

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