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World Cup action resumes on Saturday, December 10 with Morocco taking on Portugal and England taking on France. That said, you can bet that WorldCup22 is back again at providing you with all the tips and predictions to help you prepare for what to expect.
Tips
Morocco
On Saturday, the fate of well over simply their own nation rests in Morocco’s hands. Fans of other Middle Eastern countries celebrated as if their nation had won the tournament after Egypt emerged as the very first Arab nation to advance to the round of 16.
Seeing fans celebrate in the streets with flags and marches while cars honked their horns was a highlight of my time in London. No African country has ever advanced to the World Cup semi-finals; thus their hopes represent those of a whole continent.
However, they didn’t just luck into the semifinals. The Atlas Lions have only let up one goal in the tournament so far, and that was their own goal during Canada’s 2-1 victory over them in the group round. In case you missed it, you can check our World Cup 2022 fixtures Singapore time page.
After leading all players with 9 recoveries and 4 tackles against Spain, Sofyan Amrabat of Fiorentina has caught the attention of many of Europe’s top clubs thanks to his performance in the middle of the field. However, central defender Naif Aguerd was injured late in regulation versus Spain, and his absence could prove significant.
Portugal
The younger players in the national team likely look up to Ronaldo and would be shocked to see him benched. Goncalo Ramos scored a hat trick and proved that Portugal can succeed without its elderly superstar to earn the manager’s praise after a 6-0 victory over Switzerland.
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes was the orchestrator of Portugal’s victory over Switzerland. While Morocco did manage to contain Luca Modric and Kevin de Bruyne to a degree earlier in the season, neither player is currently performing at Bruno’s level. And unlike those two, Bruno possesses Bernardo Silva, who can provide assists in the creative department if Bruno is denied the ball.
While the Atlas Lions’ offense has been formidable thus far, Portugal’s defense may be the strongest it has encountered so far. Spain’s lack of an offensive focal point was a massive blunder, but with Joao Felix and Sergio Ramos at the helm, that won’t happen again.
England
Despite the fact that they haven’t played a team of France’s ability, who will likely line up in their normal 4-2-3-1 formation as we’ve seen multiple times in our World Cup 2022 free livestream, England’s 4-3-3 has been fairly successful thus far in the tournament.
If Southgate stays with Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, and Jude Bellingham in the middle, they should be able to hold their own against Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, and a sinking Antoine Griezmann.
Though Dayot Upamecano, Raphael Varane, Jules Kounde, and Theo Hernandez form a formidable French back four, Kounde’s lackluster performance at right back leaves a potential opening for England’s left side of the attack, possibly led by Phil Foden.
Jude Bellingham will be an integral part of the team. He showed why he is one of the most sought-after players in the world by going off against Senegal. He’s solid in defense and, more importantly, can help move the ball up the field. It would be in France’s best interest to let him shine, as doing so would greatly improve England’s chances of winning.
France
The oddsmakers favor France over England, which may not be that shocking given that France is the reigning World Cup champion. We all know France is the World Cup betting odds 2022 favorite because they are the defending champions, but many still have faith in this English team to pull off the upset.
The French are heavy favorites to win the tournament because of the play of Kylian Mbappe, who has scored five goals and contributed two assists in the competition so far.
Paul Pogba, Presnel Kimpembe, Karim Benzema, Mike Maignan, Christopher Nkunku, and N’Golo Kante were all injured for France prior to the tournament, but since the start of the campaign, the team has been relatively healthy.
They are a well-organized, combat force that should give France trouble. In spite of widespread skepticism about their chances of victory in 90 minutes, they will go to the semi-finals.
Predictions
When it comes to the matchup between Morocco and Portugal, the African side is a heavy underdog. While Portugal’s talent level is much higher, the Selecao have been able to pull off victories over teams with higher-quality rosters thus far in this tournament.
As the drama around Ronaldo continues, he will most likely continue to sit on the bench. They were completely different without him slowing them down against the Swiss, but he was a major factor in their loss. In their long World Cup history, Portugal has just twice advanced to the quarterfinals. They were victorious in 1966 and again in 2006.
This week, the media has focused heavily on how England plans to neutralize Mbappe of France. Some have suggested that Gareth Southgate send out his team with five defenders, but doing so would leave huge gaps at the wings or force the other wingback to stay in the defensive third, effectively neutralizing their offensive threat.The defense has been a strength for both teams thus far in the tournament, but with so many offensive options available from the start and off the bench, goals are certainly possible. The World Cup is nearly drawing to its conclusion, but, don’t forget that Solarbet still has loads of free World Cup bets up for grabs!