Croatia vs Morocco Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for 2022 World Cup 3rd Place (Goals Sparse Again in Group F Rematch)

Croatia vs Morocco Match Info

2022 FIFA World Cup Third Place
Croatia (3-2-1) vs. Morocco (4-1-1)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022
Time: 10 a.m. ET
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium — Al Rayyan, Qatar
Coverage: FOX

After a grueling few weeks, the 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to come to a close. While the majority of eyes will be on Sunday's final between France and Argentina, Croatia and Morocco will be duking it out for third-place honors on Saturday.

After being the 2018 runner-up, Croatia finds itself in the third-place match after falling 3-0 to Argentina on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Morocco's Cinderella story came to a halt after suffering a 2-0 loss to France on Wednesday.

Which of these two countries will cap off their respective impressive runs with a third-place finish?

Croatia vs Morocco Odds & Spread

All World Cup betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: CRO: (+135) | MAR: (+200) | Draw (+240)
Spread: CRO: -1 (+410) | MAR: +1 (-175)
Total: 2.5 – Over: (-112) | Under: (-108)
Team to Score the First Goal: CRO: (-125) | MAR: (+105) I NO GOALS: (+1000)

Croatia enters this contest as the slight favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 10 a.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 2.5 goals with the over being favored at -112 odds.

Croatia vs Morocco Prediction & Pick

You don't have to go too far back to find the first (and only) time that Croatia and Morocco clashed. The duo met back on Nov. 23 in Group F action, resulting in a 0-0 draw. Both teams only registered two shots on goal, however, it was Morocco that led with eight total attempts to Croatia's five.

Despite that, I'm siding with Croatia to win this battle. The semifinal didn't go the way that they planned, but the Croatians still have more experience playing in high-stakes games after being the 2018 runners-up. The Moroccans don't have nearly that much experience, having never made it beyond the Round of 16 until this year.

I expect that Croatia's defense will step up after surrendering three goals to Argentina. The Croats are more than capable of shutting down Morocco and should control the ball for the majority of the game, highlighted by their 65% possession rate in their group stage meeting.

As great as Morocco's run has been, Croatia will leave the tournament in third place.

Final Score Prediction: Croatia: 1 | Morocco: 0

Croatia vs Morocco Betting Trends

- Croatia lost to Argentina, 3-0, in the 2022 World Cup semifinals.
- Morocco lost to France, 2-0, in the 2022 World Cup semifinals.
- Croatia is 3-1-1 (W-D-L) in its last five matches.
- Morocco is 4-0-1 (W-D-L) in its last five matches.
- Croatia played Morocco to a 0-0 draw in their only head-to-head matchup on Nov. 23, 2022.

Croatia vs Morocco Best Bet

Even though the over is favored on the 2.5-goal total, don't count on that happening. For starters, Croatia has a great defense, which has led to two or fewer goals being scored in four of its six last games. Secondly, all but one of Morocco's tournament matches thus far have also seen under 2.5 goals scored.

With the two sides already having met for a 0-0 draw nearly three weeks ago, I'm playing it safe by backing the under yet again.

Bet: Under 2.5 Goals (-108)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.