Game 3 of the World Cup between Morocco and Iran kicks off Friday June 15 at 11am Eastern time in St Petersburg Stadium. Since neither of these teams is expected to advance past the group stage, this particular match does not have much importance on the standings overall, but it will mean everything to the two countries that are represented. For Morocco, this is their first trip back to the World Cup since 1998, when they were barely edged out in the group stage by Norway. For Iran, this is their second consecutive World Cup. In 2014, they bowed out in the group stage. Odds for this game have Iran as the favorite by a very slight margin. You can check the updated odds for Morocco vs Iran here. Register today to receive great World Cup bonuses and also join our bracket contest.
Morocco
Morocco will be making their fourth overall appearance in the World Cup after a 20 year absence. The last time they made it, in 1998, they had a memorable run in the Group stage that included a win over Scotland and a draw with Norway. Unfortunately for the Atlas Lions, Norway pulled off an upset in the final minute vs Brazil, winning the last game of the group stage 1-0 and pulling ahead of Morocco for the 2nd spot in the group.
This year the Atlas Lions roared through the qualifying stage as the only team in the World not to concede a goal during qualification. Compiling a 3-3-0 record, Morocco dominated the defensive side of the field during CAF qualifying, edging out the Ivory Coast, Gabon and Mali for the top spot in their group, which earned them a berth in the 2018 World Cup. Ranked #42 overall by FIFA, Morocco hopes to slay the demons of the past by at least getting a win this June.
Iran
Iran, on the other hand, is also coming off a dominant qualifying run, having gone undefeated in their Asian Football Confederation group. Compiling a 6-4-0 record with only two goals against, Iran is a defense-minded team coached by Portugal's Carlos Queiroz. As participants in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Iran drew 0-0 with Nigeria and almost drew with Argentina until Leo Messi scored a goal in extra time.
Match Overview
As purely a bragging-rights match, there is not much at stake here overall, but for both of these countries, this will be their chance to shine. What will be interesting is that both employ a defense-first strategy, so look for this game to turn into a chess match. Morocco has some capable footballers such as Captain Mehdi Benatia, who played on several European clubs and currently plays for Juventus. Midfielders Karim El Ahmadi and M’barek Boussoufa also have extensive experience playing in Europe and Hakim Ziyech and Younès Belhanda make up a formidable attack. Nordin Amrabat serves as a strong winger. Manager Herve Renard typically has his team in a 4-5-1 formation, strangling opposing offenses. On the other hand, Iran clogs up the middle of the field with a 4-2-3-1 formation and relies on a counterattacking offense which features Winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh(AZ Alkmaar), Striker Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan) and midfielder Saman Ghoddos (Ostersund). Either way, given both team's defensive posture, this match could easily end in a scoreless draw.
