After winning their first match at the 2022 World Cup, Belgium will play in their second group match against Morocco, who drew against Croatia. Decisions could already be made in the second group game, so the stakes are high. In this article,we look ahead to the match between Belgium and Morocco. We give our prediction and betting tip, and take a look at the odds to see who is the bookmakers’ favourite.
Belgium World Cup 2022 – Latest Team News and Statistics
The 2022 World Cup started for Belgium with a match against Canada. The number two in the FIFA rankings struggled immediately, but did win 1-0 through a goal from Michy Batshuayi. Thanks were also due to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, as he saved the Belgians by stopping a penalty kick early in the match.
The win puts Belgium in the lead in Group F of the World Cup. It is the only country that managed to win in the group, so that is very favourable. On paper, Belgium did face the least difficult opponent in the group. Roberto Martínez’s team still has some work to do in the next two group matches.
Belgium will not have first striker Romelu Lukaku in the next group game either. He is struggling with a thigh injury and does not look likely to make the match. Batshuayi, who is now in the point of attack, already managed to score, so the problems are not that big yet.
Morocco World Cup 2022 – Latest Team News and Statistics
Morocco started the World Cup with a draw against Croatia, the losing finalist from four years ago. In the first half, Morocco played attractive football at times, leaving Croatia struggling. In the second half, the Croatians notably took over. The 0-0 draw was ultimately justified. Morocco will have to go all out to reach the knockout stage.
It is already as successful a World Cup for Morocco as it was four years ago, as then it came to just one point in the entire group stage. Then, the country finished at the very bottom of a group with Spain, Portugal and Iran. At that World Cup, Morocco played a 2-2 draw against Spain.
A point against Croatia is not bad, yet there was a blemish on the match. Former Ajacied Noussair Mazraoui had to leave the pitch on a stretcher. The right-back, who was acting as left-back against the Croatians, was injured in an attacking move. It looked like a hip injury, but it is still unclear what the exact injury is and how long Mazraoui will be out.
Belgium – Morocco Previous encounters
The countries have only played each other once so far and for that encounter we have to go back to 26 March 2008. The Belgians will not like thinking back to that match, as they went down painfully. It ended up 1-4 for Morocco. Soufiane Alloudi opened the scoring during the friendly in Brussels and Tarik Sektioui doubled the score in the 35th minute. Axel Witsel countered shortly after half-time, but in the closing stages Morocco ran much further away through goals from Nabil El Zhar and Abdessalam Benjelloun.
Belgium – Morocco, World Cup 2022: Betting Tip & Odds
Belgium went into the match as favourites, but failed to really convince in the opening game. Morocco failed to get past Croatia, but did show that they have a tough squad. Still, we rate the Belgians’ chances higher. It has a stronger squad and has secured its first three points, so the pressure is already a bit more off. Our prediction is therefore that Belgium will win. This betting tip yields a odds of 21/20.
- Tip: Belgium wins
- Odds: 21/20 at bookmaker Bet365
- Risk assessment: Medium
- Recommended stake: 5/10