The reigning champions France booked their place in the World Cup final four with a 2-1 win over England on Saturday night. Les Bleus will go head-to-head with the first ever African semi-finalists Morocco, who sent Portugal packing in the quarter-finals.
We’ve previewed the upcoming tie and picked out our best betting tips from the latest football odds. Browse all of the World Cup betting markets and odds at NetBet Sport.
France vs Morocco
Wednesday 14th December, 7pm
Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
France vs Morocco Football Preview
France survived a late penalty scare to emerge victorious from their quarter-final with England, cementing a spot in the last four as they go in search of back-to-back World Cup titles. They have won four of their five games this tournament, only losing to Tunisia with a fully rotated side. Morocco will provide a completely different test to that provided by England, but a tough challenge, nonetheless.
Morocco’s immense defensive performance in a 1-0 win over Portugal was their fourth clean sheet in five matches in Qatar. In fact, Morocco are yet to concede a goal scored by an opposition player. They have shown some incredibly gutsy defending thus far, but will need to go one step further if they are to keep the champions from finding their net.
France have an extremely well-rounded attack. They can hurt you running in behind, from distance, or with crosses into the box. That is why they pose a serious threat to Morocco’s historic run. If Morocco can successfully close down the central space, France have adept crossers of the ball and a powerful target man in Olivier Giroud.
The Moroccans will also need to be far more clinical in the final third if they are to advance. Against both Spain and Portugal, they have late counter-attacks to put the game bed, but the final ball or finish was often poor. They won’t get too many chances against Dider Deschamps’ side. Those that they do, they must take.
France vs Morocco Football Odds
France are strong 1.53 favourites, with Morocco 7.40 underdogs and a draw priced at 3.94. Four of Morocco’s matches have seen under 2.5 goals, with the odds currently at 1.64 for the same outcome on Wednesday. Both teams to score is at 2.36, suggesting the majority are siding with a France clean sheet.
Kylian Mbappe (4.00) leads the odds to open the scoring once again, with Giroud (5.60) also providing good value. Morocco’s quarter-final hero Youssef En-Nesyri is viewed as most likely to break the deadlock for the African side.
World Cup Semi-Final Betting Tips
Giroud to score at any time and under 2.5 match goals – 7.50
Giroud could be the key once again for France. Morocco will sit deep and not allow any space in behind, so it could be balls into the box which provide most effective for the champions. Given what we’ve seen from Morocco thus far, two goals should be enough to kill off the tie.
Half time/Full time: Draw/France – 3.61
Morocco will defend for their lives – it’s what we have come to expect. We can see them competing valiantly in the first half, but they may eventually run out of steam. With the quality available off the French bench, they should have too much for Morocco.
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