Morocco vs Croatia Predictions

• Morocco have lost seven of their last 10 World Cup games
• Modric has increased his scoring rate for Croatia and he found the net in three of his last six club games
• Croatia have won each of their last five matches

Croatia hope to be contenders again

Croatia have lost three of their five previous World Cup openers, but when they’ve avoided defeat in their first game they’ve made it to the semi-finals. They were able to make the final in Russia in 2018, with many of those players back for another crack at the tournament this year.

The omens should be good for Croatia this time around, as they face a winnable opener. They meet a Morocco side who have won only one of their last 10 World Cup games, losing seven. The African side have only made it out of the group once, having lost nine of 16 games overall in this competition.

Modric to run the show again

Luka Modric won best player at the tournament in 2018 and he remains Croatia’s standout player. The 37-year-old showed no signs of slowing down in Real’s victorious Champions League run earlier this year, while he’s added scoring threat to his game.

For most of his international career, Modric scored at a rate of barely over a goal per year. He scored 16 times for his country between 2006 and 2019. However, he’s notched seven strikes since March last year. The midfielder has scored in three of his last six for Real and his country is more reliant on his scoring output, so back Modric to score in a fourth-straight international tournament with a goal against Morocco.

Routine win for in-form Croatia

Croatia don’t just have tournament previous in their favour here, they head to Qatar in fantastic form. They are unbeaten in six games, winning each of their last five in a run which saw them top France in their Nations League group.

Croatia were able to win away to both France and Denmark in that group, so expect them to make a strong start to this tournament. Given Morocco’s poor record at the tournament and the strength of their opening opponents, it’s hard to see anything but a Croatia win. Back them to take the points, with a 2-0 win my correct score prediction.

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