Portugal is the heavy favorite to advance to the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup semi-finals, beating Morocco this coming Saturday, December 10, according to the OKBET prediction.
The favorite team is thirsting for a World Cup trophy, with its superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo announcing that this will be his final international tournament with Portugal.
However, it is not because the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is with the winning team. Here’s why:
The Breakdown
In the matches played by both teams, Portugal, with its captain, Ronaldo, scored nine points. Morocco, on the other hand, had eight points.
Both teams, during Round 16, accumulated three wins. The underdog had one draw, while the favorite lost once.
In its last match, Morocco made an upset over the heavy contender Spain last Tuesday, December 6. Spain lost the penalty shootout 3-0 thanks to Spanish-born Achraf Hakimi.
Meanwhile, Portugal proved to be a difficult opponent for Switzerland. The latter lost their match, 6-1.
Morocco will have a hard time scoring against Portugal, whose defensive rating is 6.76. Ronaldo’s team stopped at least 10.8 attempts from opponents, unlike their semi-final matchup, which only prevented 8.3 tries.
On the other hand, the underdog team is better at intercepting the passing lanes, with 10.5 per game. Portugal only had 6.5 during the entirety of Round 16.
But the aggressiveness of Morocco on the defensive side makes them vulnerable to committing fouls. Before qualifying for the quarter-finals, they already had an average of 14.8 fouls, 1.8 higher than Portugal’s 13.
Offensive stats showed that the Portuguese team accurately hit the goal, with 5.8 shots on target (SOT). The Moroccans can only score an average of 2.5 per game.
Furthermore, the attempts of the losing team are lower (7.5) compared to Portugal’s 13.5.
Portuguese also has the ball 50.7% of the time, winning 9.7 aerial battles. Morocco, although only 32.7% to be on the offensive, is the victor in aerial battles with 10.8.
Betting Odds
Here are the odds shown at OKBET:
Handicap
Morocco
| Spain
|
Over/Under
| Over 2/2.5 | 1.91 | Under 2/2.5 | 1.95 |
| Over 2.5 | 1.61 | Under 2.5 | 1.73 |
| Over 2 | 1.61 | Under 2 | 2.33 |
| Over 2.5/3 | 2.44 | Under 2.5/3 | 1.55 |
1×2
| Morocco | 4.90 |
| Portugal | 1.65 |
| Draw | 3.65 |
Total Goals
| 0-1 | 2.88 |
| 2-3 | 1.93 |
| 4-6 | 4.00 |
| By 7 or More | 31.00 |
However, note that the odds might change as game day nears. Better check authorized sports betting sites like OKBET for accurate odds.
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