FIFA World Cup 2022: Morocco vs Croatia prediction, time, team form and lineup details

Croatia's World Cup Group F opener against the Atlas Lions will be a great gauge of how they may do in the competition. In three of their five World Cup appearances, Croatia lost the opening game, and each time they did, they were eliminated from the competition. Croatia advanced to the semifinals every time they won their first game. Morocco will feel like they can stir up some trouble after cruising through their own qualifying tournament. They scored 20 goals and allowed only one in the second round of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) division, winning every game they played. Then, in the third and final qualifying round, they thrashed the Democratic Republic of the Congo 5-2 overall to proceed as the only team with a victory margin of more than one goal.

Teams

Midfielder Luka Modric will want to write a new chapter in Croatia's World Cup history when they play Morocco in the 2022 World Cup opener. In Russia, Modric collected the Golden Ball award as the competition's top player. Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who recently battled a knee ailment, is now eligible, so Croatia has no fresh injury worries.

Morocco has won sporting matches against countries including South Africa, Chile, and Georgia. In September, the team that was rated 22nd in the FIFA World Rankings drew 0-0 with Paraguay. Walid Regragui, the club's head coach, will be delighted with where his squad is headed. With Sofyan Amrabat anticipated to return to the midfield, some adjustments are probable. He chose Chelsea player Hakim Ziyech for the national team three months after Walid Regragui succeeded Vahid Halilhodzic as Morocco's head coach.

Morocco vs. Croatia Head-to-Head

Only one matchup, in 1996, pitted Morocco and Croatia against one another. The game was level 2-2 at the half and the winner of the semi-final match in the first Hassan II Trophy competition was decided by a penalty shootout. Following their victory against the Czech Republic in the championship game, the Croatians defeated their hosts 7-6 in the shoot-out to claim the inaugural tournament victory.

Players lineup

Youssef En-Nesyri will be primarily in charge of scoring goals for Morocco, despite the fact that Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi will probably garner the most of the focus. While Marcelo Brozovi has established himself as one of Europe's premier deep-lying playmakers over the past four years, veteran midfielder Luka Modri is poised to play a major part for Croatia.

Kickoff time and venue

The Morocco vs Croatia match will be played on November 23 at 3:30 PM (IST) in Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor.

Prediction

Morocco vs. Croatia: 2-2.