Morocco vs Iran 2018 World Cup Betting Preview

Group B at this year’s World Cup contains both Spain and Portugal — as well as Morocco and Iran. The vast majority of soccer observers expect Spain and Portugal to advance, but the loser of the two favorites will experience from pressure if either Morocco or Iran can emerge with a win. Morocco are in their first World Cup since 1998, while Iran also qualified four years ago when the World Cup was staged in Brazil. These two teams have only met once — in a friendly — and have never met in World Cup play. Take a look at our World Cup betting preview of this opening game in Group B action.

Morocco vs Iran 2018 World Cup Betting Preview

When: Friday, June 15, 2018, 11:00am ET Where: Krestovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg, Russia TV: FS1 Radio: None Live Stream: Live Soccer TV 2018 World Cup Odds: Iran +292 / Morocco +131 / Draw +202 / O/U 2.5

Why should you bet on Morocco?

The Atlas Lions have multiple players on their roster who contribute in the European leagues. Medhi Benatia has established himself in Serie A as a regular player, most recently finishing up a Serie A title with Juventus, who now have won seven straight. Hakim Ziyech starts regularly for Ajax, and Romain Saiss was a major factor in Wolves achieving promotion this season. Their friendly win over Serbia was emphatic, and they had a terrific run in qualification; in the third round from the CAF region, they did not concede any goals in any of the six games. Morocco have not advanced to the round of 16 since 1986. However, they come into this matchup on the momentum of a 3-1 whipping of Estonia in their last friendly. They have the scorers to break through against Iran — if they have the patience and the spacing to deliver. If you like Morocco, you see them doing the work to find space against a tenacious defensive team and getting the luck to find the back of the net at the right time.

Why should you bet on Iran?

Iran scored 26 goals in eight qualification, against just three goals permitted, although their qualification zone is one of the easiest in the world. They are a hard team to break through defensively, which could frustrate Morocco. Sardar Azmoun, who plays for Rubin Kazan, is considered their best player, and he put in seven goals all by himself during qualification. Mehdi Taremi is a terrific striker, and Alireza Jahanbakhsh can also be dangerous in space. Iran has a solid defense and plays organized ball from start to finish. Iran also have the advantage of having been in Russia for about two weeks, as they decided to stay in the region after a friendly against Lithuania leading into play. They have posted two shutouts in their last three matches. The question for Iran is the level of competition they have faced coming into World Cup play. None of their friendlies have come against teams that are particularly challenging, while many of their competitors have faced teams well above them in the international rankings. If you like Iran, you see them clamping down on Morocco with their defense and keeping things close to the vest. This is one game where I would seriously give the draw consideration, because I see both sides opening cautiously and the Iranian focus on defense taking over the rhythm from the early going.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Iran has an impressive defense, but Morocco has played against stiffer competition and has the offensive talent to find the net, even against Iran’s scheme. I predict a final score of Morocco 2, Iran 0, as the Atlas Lions gain the clean sheet and then have three key points heading into the rest of group play, putting the pressure on Spain and Portugal to get three points of their own, giving Morocco the chance to win on a tiebreaker in the event of a draw with one of the two favorites to advance.