Belgium vs Morocco Predictions

• Morocco have failed to score in nine of their 17 World Cup games
• Belgium have won 11 of their last 13 World Cup matches
• The Red Devils have won each of their last eight group-stage games at the World Cup
• Belgium have scored exactly once in four of their last six matches

Slow start for Belgium

Belgium struggled in their opening game of the 2022 World Cup, toiling to a 1-0 win over a Canada side that appeared to be the better team. The Belgians’ golden generation looked disjointed, but they still continued a fantastic record at this competition.

Belgium have won each of their last eight group-stage games at the World Cup. The Red Devils have also won 11 of their last 13 games across the last three editions of the tournament, dating back to 2014.

This clash marks Belgium’s 50th match at the World Cup finals, making them the 12th different nation to reach that milestone. Only two of the previous 11 have lost their 50th game, with eight claiming a victory. Despite their shaky start, the Red Devils should be the ninth to celebrate that achievement with a win.

Batshuayi Belgium’s bright spot

Despite being a forgotten man at Chelsea and a long-time part of their loan army, Michy Batshuayi scored the only goal against Canada in the opening game. He was filling in for the injured Romelu Lukaku and he’s expected to do the same when the Red Devils meet Morocco.

He has eight goals from 14 games for Besiktas this season and his international record of late has been great in Lukaku’s absence. In the Nations League campaign he hit three goals in six games, while he was the most threatening player on the pitch for the Belgians in their opener.

Batshuayi attempted five of Belgium’s nine shots against Canada, while he was the only player to have a shot for them until he went off in the 78th minute. He heads into the clash against Morocco having scored in three of his last four competitive games for Belgium, so back him to notch in this clash too.

Another quiet clash for Morocco

As for Morocco, they drew their opening game 0-0 against Croatia. That continued a long-running habit for the African side, who  have failed to score in 53% of their World Cup matches. That’s the joint-highest percentage of any nation to have played more than 10 games in the competition.

Morocco have won just two of their 17 World Cup matches (D6 L9). They’ve also lost their second group stage match in four of their five previous appearances at the competition, so this could be a tough afternoon against a Belgian side who have an impressive record in the group stage.

The Red Devils have never lost a FIFA World Cup match against an African nation before (W3 D1), so they should see off a low-scoring Morocco side. I’m backing Belgium to win to nil, while a 1-0 victory is my correct score prediction given they’ve scored exactly once in four of their last six internationals.