To commence Group F group stage play, Morocco is set to take on Croatia at El Bayt Stadium.
Morroco is coming into the World Cup with confidence after putting up a 3-0 against win Georgia with goals from Sofiane Boufal, Hakim Ziyech, and Youssef En-Nesyri. The goal by Chelsea’s Ziyech was impressive, scored from half field.
Morocco is 8-2-2 in the 2022 season, putting away teams such as Ghana, Liberia, and South Africa. Being the 22nd-ranked team in the world, they are sure to make it a competition.
Croatia on the other hand, is coming off a 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia on Nov. 16. They are 6-1-2 in 2022. Croatia had stunning results in the summer, tying France on June 6 then beating them 1-0 a week later in Nations League play.
With Croatia being the 12th ranked team in FIFA rankings, they are sure to make this match interesting. Having experienced Luka Modric will certainly help with their options for attacking play. The 37-year-old mid from Real Madrid shows no signs of slowing down, though this will most likely be his last World Cup.
Simply put, Croatia is playing better than Morocco. They have played tougher opponents overall and handled it better. Drawing France and then beating them the following week in June is extremely important going into this and something to pay attention to.
Croatia also has someone to be seen as the dark horse on the team and that player is Mateo Kovacic. The Chelsea mid does not get consistent minutes for the club, but surely the duo between Modric and Kovacic will show up in a big way.
Considering Morocco’s loss to the United States, 1 of the major opponents it faced, there is risk in assuming it can keep up with a side that has patient midfielders
like Croatia.