Morocco vs Spain preview & prediction

Match preview

Morocco takes on Spain in the penultimate World Cup 2022 last-16 match on Tuesday afternoon at the Education City Stadium.

La Roja finished second in Group E, tying them with their African counterparts, who defeated Croatia and Belgium to win Group F.

With Belgium’s golden generation underperforming and 2018 runners-up Croatia struggling to find a consistent attacking spark, Morocco took full advantage to finish first in Group F with seven points from nine available.

Regragui’s men are looking to become the first Moroccan team to reach the quarter-finals, and their four-game unbeaten run at the World Cup is only surpassed by Cameroon’s five between 1982 and 1990.

Spain finished second in Group E after a shock loss to Japan in their final group game. La Furia Roja has one of the strongest squads in the tournament and will be determined to advance to the next round.

Spain, the 2010 World Cup winners, is under pressure to build on their Euro 2020 semi final

Morocco vs Spain Head to Head

Spain

2- 2

Morocco

Morocco vs Spain form guide

Morocco’s Last 5 games -DWDWW

Canada	1 – 2	Morocco
Belgium	0 – 2	Morocco
Croatia	0 – 0	Morocco
Morocco	3 – 0	Georgia
Paraguay	0 – 0	Morocco

Spain’s last 5 games – WWWDL

Japan	2 – 1	Spain
Spain	1 – 1	Germany
Spain	7 – 0	Costa Rica
Jordan	1 – 3	Spain
Portugal	1 – 0	Spain

Key stats

Spain have an excellent record against Morocco and have won two out of the three matches that have been played between the two teams, with the other match ending in a draw.
The previous meeting between the two teams took place in the group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and ended in a 2-2 draw.
Spain have never lost an official fixture against Morocco, with their first two victories against the African side coming in World Cup qualifiers in 1961.
Spain were knocked out by Russia at this stage of the competition in 2018 and have not progressed to the quarterfinals since 2010, when they went on to win the World Cup.
Morocco are featuring in the round of 16 for only the second time in history – their previous appearance in 1986 ended in a 1-0 defeat against Germany.
Spain are set to face an African side in the knock-out stages of the FIFA World Cup for the first time – they are unbeaten in their five group games against teams from the continent.

Morocco vs Spain prediction

Morocco must use every bit of their recent defensive resilience if they are to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, and Regragui’s attackers should take heart from La Roja’s defensive flaws against Japan. Hence we go with the following pickings in this fixture: