Canada vs Morocco prediction: WORLD: World Cup betting tips on match 2022-11-30 15:00.
Head coach John Herdman is urging his Canada side to make yet more history in their remaining game of Qatar 2022. The Maple Leafs are still chasing their first victory at a World Cup finals and run the risk of emulating their only other finals appearance in Mexico 1986 by going home winless, yet they did at least finally score their first-ever World Cup goal at the fifth time of asking when they were beaten 4-1 by Croatia on Sunday.
The result at the weekend means even victory in their third and final group fixture won’t be enough to see Canada qualify for the last 16. As joint hosts of the next tournament in 2026, Herdman is challenging his players to show they are “heading in the right direction” by finishing on a high and beating Morocco, whom they have lost to twice in their three previous meetings (D1).
The Atlas Lions are unlikely to be pushovers and are chasing their own little bit of history. Walid Regragui’s side have kept clean sheets in their opening two games, a 0-0 draw with Croatia and shock 2-0 win over Belgium, meaning they could emulate the 1986 Morocco team, who were the last African side to concede fewer than two goals in the World Cup group stages.
That 1986 tournament was also the only occasion when Morocco reached the knock-out stages of a World Cup, but a draw in this game will ensure they progress to the round of 16. Indeed, a win will secure top spot in Group F if Croatia slip up against Belgium, but Regragui is warning his players they “haven't accomplished anything yet” as they look to extend a remarkable run of form which has seen Morocco suffer just one defeat over 90 minutes since October 2019 (W31, D8, L3).
Players to watch: Jonathan David has lost just five of his last 22 competitive games for Canada (W13, D4), scoring ten goals in the process. Meanwhile, Hakim Ziyech, named player of the match in Morocco’s win over Belgium, has played a role in his side keeping clean sheets in his last ten international appearances (W7, D3).
Hot stat: Both teams have scored in only one of Morocco’s last seven appearances at the World Cup finals and just one of Canada’s five all-time games at the tournament.
World Cup trivia: Clocked at just 67 seconds, Alphonso Davies’ strike for Canada against Croatia is the fastest goal of Qatar 2022 so far, although it fails to make the all-time top ten fastest goals at World Cup tournaments, in a list headed by Hakan Şükür at 11 seconds.