World Cup quarter-finals: Morocco v Portugal, England v France
Morocco v Portugal
Walid Regragui’s Morocco have surprised everyone at this World Cup – bar perhaps Samuel Eto’o, who tipped them to make the final. Whether or not that comes to pass, the Moroccans did send Spain home earlier this week, shutting out Luis Enrique’s team before winning on penalties.
For the African nation, even if they progress no further in this tournament it’s been a remarkable run already. The smart money makes Portugal overwhelming favourites to come out on top here; yet few thought Spain would come up short against this side, either.
That’s not a perfect comparison, because Spain started like world-beaters and became progressively less threatening; Portugal have began less impressively, but the benching of Cristiano Ronaldo against Switzerland was a gamble that paid off in outrageous fashion (and with a delightful side order of schadenfreude, too).
With cranky Cris on the sidelines, Portugal won 6-1 against a Swiss side that had been tipped to keep things tight. Coach Fernando Santos was utterly vindicated in dropping his ageing superstar for Goncalo Ramos, the 21-year-old Benfica star scoring a hat-trick.
Portugal look a good thing to end Morocco’s fairy tale
Since that result, the Portuguese Football Federation have been forced to release a statement denying reports that Ronaldo threatened to walk out on his nation if he was dropped, fuelling the all-too-feasible theory that Ronaldo threatened to walk out on his nation if he was dropped.
Regardless, on the basis of the Swiss result, Portugal look a good thing to end Morocco’s fairy tale at the Al Thumama stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Presumably, Ronaldo will start on the bench again for this match; it’s difficult to make a case for his return after that emphatic win.
But whoever starts, it’s unlikely this will be a repeat of the Swiss spanking. In four World Cup games so far, Morocco have conceded just a single goal. In our Bet Builder section, place Portugal to win and under 3.5 goals as a double at 11/10.
England v France
How do you solve a problem like Mbappe? The 23-year-old is an old hand when it comes to this tournament, winning the World Cup as a 19-year-old in Russia last time out – and scoring in the final, too.
In a team brimming with talent and pedigree, Kylian is the killer elite, the game-changer, the man who can’t be stopped. So how to stop him, when England face France at the Al Bayt stadium on Saturday?
Good luck with that, Gareth Southgate. Mbappe is the leading scorer in this tournament with five goals; England’s defence, principally Kyle Walker, will have their hands full keeping up with the Paris Saint-Germain star.
Even if Mbappe can be contained, there are other names to be aware of; Antoine Griezmann has been doing the less flashy but no-less imperative stuff for France, providing the passes and tracking back with such effectivity, some are praising him as more influential than Mbappe.
When it comes to finding the net, Olivier Giroud is no slouch; he’s just become France’s greatest scorer of all time, ahead of Thierry Henry. Ousmane Dembele is less prolific, but certainly has the pace to trouble Harry Maguire and co.
If that all sounds a little bleak, England could – should? – give as good as they get. Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka; these are players that could leave Les Bleus bemused.
Giroud is now France’s greatest ever scorer
There’s a tendency for England fans to view this encounter in the direst, most doom-ridden terms.
But this Three Lions team can be good, really good. They reached a semi-final four years ago and the final of the Euros last year; after years of under-performance, watching England isn’t the spirit-crushing exercise in exasperation of the Hodgson and Capello eras. Most of the time, anyway.
And France have their foibles too. Manager Didier Deschamps is like a man with a Ferrari who’s too cautious to really enjoy it; not unlike Southgate, the “water-carrier” often prefers to hedge his bets, rather than unleash the full ferocious potential of his side.
Like England, France’s Nations League performances earlier this year were distinctly underwhelming, one win in six games. And like England, France can still waver on the big stage, no matter their undeniable quality.
At last year’s Euros, France eventually lost on penalties to Switzerland in the round of 16, after a 3-3 draw in normal time; the French had drawn against both Portugal and Hungary in the group stage.
There’s no doubt this French side can really do some damage if they set out in expansive style – but at their best, England can be a similarly daunting prospect.
England are hard to beat at major tournaments
Regardless of the result, this could be an outstanding match, loaded with incident and excitement. If only the two managers can keep a lid on their more conservative tendencies. But perhaps it’s naïve to think that will happen.
Instead, pragmatism may be to the fore here. Regardless, England have proven incredibly hard to beat at recent major tournaments; at last year’s Euros, the score in the final was 1-1 after 90 minutes. It was the same story in the World Cup semi-final four years ago, the game going into extra time after finishing 1-1 in the regulation 90.
The draw (after 90 minutes) is a 23/10 shot here; if you think recent history is a decent yardstick, you could also back the game to finish 1-1 after 90 minutes at 5/1 in the Correct Score market.
Otherwise, backing England to go through at 59/50 could be worth a look too. And Bukayo Saka has three goals already in Qatar; he’s 22/5 to find the net on Saturday.
To bet on a wide range of markets, visit 32Red Sport today. If you’re looking for a different kind of flutter, check out our 32Red Casino site. There’s plenty of slots and table games to keep you entertained!
