FIFA World Cup: Morocco vs Spain, Preview and prediction
Morocco went above and beyond most people's expectations when it became the second African nation to reach the last 16 in the World Cup in Qatar.
Follow all of today's Football matches on our Live Match Centre
Morocco head coach Walid Regragui thinks there is more to come from his side at the World Cup after they picked up seven points to top Group F.Not only did they surpass European heavyweights Croatia and eliminate Belgium, but they did so while playing some beautiful football.
After following up their scoreless draw with Croatia with an even more remarkable 2-0 victory over the shell-shocked Belgians, the Moroccans earned their spot in the Round of 16.
Their 2-1 victory over an already-eliminated Canada in their final match rounded off an impressive campaign and gave them the top spot in a competitive group.
Spain looked like they were going to take the top spot in their final game against Japan when they took an early lead, only to concede twice right after half-time, which then turned the game, and Group E, upside down.
Spain pressed hard for an equaliser, only to come up short against the hard-working Japanese.
Morocco, having won a strong group, would have missed the feeling of facing yet another European heavyweight as they face Spain in the first knockout stage.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 🆚 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘰, only one will move on 💪<br><br>The actions starts tomorrow at 10 AM ET on FOX! <a href="https://t.co/0th0hRFjnC">pic.twitter.com/0th0hRFjnC</a></p>— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1599916535035854849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In contrast, Spain will think the reverse and be relieved to play Morocco instead of Croatia.
However, Morocco will now regard itself as competitive with everyone. Given how they handled Belgium and Croatia, it is likely that a Spanish team that struggled against Japan will similarly have their work cut out for them when facing Morocco's exciting game plan.
With the sheer experience of playing on big occasions, Spain hold an edge in Tuesday's match.