Spain – Morocco

Will Spain win Group B from the FIFA World Cup in Russia? In order to do it, most likely they are going to need a big win over Morocco in their last game from the group in Kaliningrad. Let’s have a look at this match in our winning soccer predictions for the clash.

Spain are doing fairly good for a team which sacked its head coach just one day before the start of the tournament. La Roja began their Russian adventure with a dramatic 3-3 draw against Portugal, which was followed by a 1-0 win over Iran. Right now Spain are leading the standings in Group B, but they have the same amount of points and the same goal difference as Portugal. It’s going to be a close fight for the first place until the end.

The temporary coach Fernando Hierro compared this Spanish squad to the World Cup winning squad from 2010. He stated that the whole squad is filled with players who are constantly pushing each other to do better and better. Spain failed in its last two big tournaments – in 2014 and 2016, so now La Roja is hungry for success.

Morocco were unlucky to lose against Portugal. The African team created a lot of opportunities to score, but sadly for them, this didn’t happen. The head coach Herve Renard blamed the referees for what’s happened, calling it “a poor refereing”. It’s clear that Morocco did not win the African Cup of Nations by chance. So far they proved that they are a solid team, but they were incredibly unlucky to suffer two defeats.

The only injured player in the Spanish team is the reserve goalkeeper Pepe Reina. The former Liverpool goalie won’t be able to take his place on the bench. The good news come from the recovery of the left back Nacho Monreal, who is ready to be included in the squad once again.

Diego Costa is the man of the hour for Spain. The Atletico Madrid striker have scored 9 goals in his last 9 starts for Spain. Costa have 3 goals since the start of the World Cup, so he’s a strong contender for the Golden Boot. Some people expect that he will be rested against Morocco, though. Don’t be suprised to see Iago Aspas or Rodrigo taking Costa’s place against the Africans.

Fernando Hierro have some other options to make rotations as well. Players like Nacho, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago, Koke, Saul and Marco Asensio are ready to get back in action. Hierro is incredibly lucky to have so many good players to choose from, although we don’t expect to see many changes in Spain’s starting eleven. How we said, they want to win the group, so most likely Hierro wouldn’t want to change his entire squad for the game.

Spain’s titular left back Jordi Alba reminded his teammates that they shall not underrestimate Morocco. He stated that Iran troubled Spain much more than Portugal, which is a proof that neither one team at the World Cup shall be underrestimated. But we believe that the Spanish team is experienced enough to already know this.

These are our winning soccer predictions for the World Cup game from Group B between Spain and Morocco. This match could allow Spain to win the group and beat Portugal (or Iran) for the first place. Meanwhile Morocco are still looking for their first goal (and a point) at the 2018 World Cup. They are already eliminated from the competition, but they still have some hopes to finish their efforts on a high note. But it won’t be easy for them against La Roja.