The last day of the Round of 16 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup has potential to be the tightest we’ve seen so far.
Both matchups feature a high-profile team from the Iberian Peninsula against a less-heralded opponent who has punched above their weight in Qatar.
So how should you approach Tuesday’s contests? Read on for the details, plus be sure to check out FanDuel Sportsbook for the latest World Cup odds and more!
Morocco (+330 to advance) vs. Spain (-440)
Education City Stadium | Al Rayyan, Qatar | 10am ET
For the second World Cup running, Morocco and Spain find themselves pitted against each other on the global game’s biggest stage with everything at stake.
Four years ago in Russia, the two met in the final match of the group stage and played out a memorable 2-2 draw. On that occasion, the Atlas Lions scored what seemed to be the game-winner in the 81st minute, only for Iago Aspas to equalize in stoppage time to secure passage to the knockouts for the Spanish at the North Africans’ expense.
Some things have changed since that match in Kaliningrad -- only Sergio Busquets remains in the picture from La Roja’s starting XI that night, while Morocco have had three different managers take charge in the years since -- but much still remains the same, chiefly the style of how these two countries play.
Just as Spain have done for the last 15 years, this version of Luis Enrique’s side has lapped the field when it comes to keeping the ball.
They’re tops in pass completion percentage (91%), passes completed (nearly 800 per match) and time of possession (77%, a whopping 10 percentage points more than any other side), and while the scoring has dried up a bit since their seven-goal outburst against Costa Rica on Matchday 1, they have at least shown they’re capable of the cutting edge they’ve sometimes lacked.
Morocco, meanwhile, feature much of the same personnel from that group stage meeting in 2018, but this isn’t an aging team by any stretch. In fact, they’re the fifth-youngest in the field, and their two biggest stars -- Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi -- are very much in their prime.
Morocco topped a group that included Belgium, Croatia and Canada
An unbelievable feat