Morocco vs Portugal odds and predictions: Who is the favorite in the World Cup 2022 game?

Morocco’s soccer fans are probably having the time of their life. Their nation is making history in Qatar, as they are now in the quarterfinals, their best performance in the tournament ever.

Morocco vs Portugal live online: score, stats and updates | Qatar World Cup 2022

Morocco making history

Walid Regragui’s men were not favorites to get to the knockout stages, with elimination their most likely fate before the start of the tournament after being paired with Croatia, Belgium, and Canada in Group F.

However, the Atlas Lions have a squad with talented footballers who are playing in some of the best European leagues, and the experience they acquired has been very useful to edge out Belgium and Croatia to top their section against all the odds.

Making it to the round of 16 was a success for the African nation, but Morocco want to dream big in Qatar and proved that against Spain, displaying a rock-solid defense for 120 minutes that sent both teams to the penalty shootout, where Morocco comfortably came out on top.

Portugal shining without Ronaldo

Meanwhile, Portugal keep advancing firmly in the tournament. They topped Group H with two good performances against Ghana (3-2) and Uruguay (2-0), despite losing their third group stage game vs. South Korea (1-0) when they had already qualified for the round of 16.

Their game against Switzerland was seen as one of the most balanced ones due to the Swiss team’s performances against Cameroon, Brazil, and Serbia. In fact, Muran Yakin’s squad was close to topping Group G after Brazil’s shock loss to Cameroon, but La Canarinha finally progressed as the section’s leaders by a one-goal difference.

Portugal went into the game against Switzerland with lots of confidence and coach Fernando Santos benched Cristiano Ronaldo, which didn’t adversely affect the team as they thrashed the Nati 6-1, the second most impressive result of the tournament to date after Spain’s 7-0 win over Costa Rica.

Morocco vs Portugal: odds

The odds suggest Portugal is the nation with the better chance of qualifying for the semifinals, as the bookmakers consider Portugal have lots of talented players in all of their lines.

However, it was a similar case in the game against Spain, where La Roja were even more favorites to progress in the competition, but their Southern neighbors managed to keep them at bay to earn a hard-fought win in the penalty shootout.

Portugal are tipped to come out on top at 11/20 (1.55), while an upset by the Atlas Lions is tipped at 9/2 (5.5). The draw is being paid at 9/4 (3.25).

Morocco vs Portugal: prediction

It will be an interesting match where both coaches will probably follow similar strategies until now, with Morocco showing a good display in defense and Santos’ team trying to play the ball and take advantage of their power up front.

Whether Cristiano will be featuring from the start or not, it will probably be difficult for the Portuguese nation to find the back of the net, as Morocco have only conceded one goal so far in the World Cup, so another extra-time can’t be ruled out here.

Prediction: Morocco 0-0 Portugal (with Portugal edging it 0-1 in extra-time)