Only 2 games are left in the World Cup! On Saturday, the 3rd place will be decided between Croatia and Morocco. Of course, both teams are disappointed that they aren't playing in the finals. While Croatia lost to Argentina, Morocco didn't stand against France. In this game, I'm predicting that Morocco won't lose in the regular time.

We can say that Croatia's performance against Argentina was disappointing. Yes, the European team controlled the ball more (61% to 39%) but they didn't have any moment that could potentially lead to scoring a goal. Croatia broke down in 5 minutes as they were down by 0:2 already in the 1st half. Croatia had 12 shots of which only 2 were on target while Argentina had 9 shots with 7 (!) on target. If we look from the xG perspective, Croatia was expected to score just 0.52 while Argentina's xG was 2.34.

For the first time ever, Morocco was in the semi-final. They conceded already after 5 minutes but fought very well. Especially in the 2nd half where they had many dangerous opportunities to score but the real problem was putting the ball in the net. During the last 45 minutes, Morocco had 67% ball control, 8 shots but only 1 was on target. At the same time, this number could be bigger if they could make some shots but France's defenders played so well that they got rid of the ball. Overall, Morocco controlled the ball more (61% to 39%), they had 13 shots and 3 on target while France had 14 shots with 3 on target. Morocco's xG was 1.00 while for France it was 2.10.

Both teams received their first loss in the semi-finals. Croatia overall has conceded 6 times during this tournament while Morocco has conceded only twice. Yes, versus Canada they conceded but it was after Morocco's player's leg. On the other side, Croatia has scored 6 times while Morocco has been successful 5 times but it has to be mentioned that Croatia scored 4 times against Canada. The high-scoring game against Canada is the reason why Croatia's xG is better - 1.39 for them and 0.92 for Morocco. From the defensive perspective (xGA), Morocco has been better on defense with 1.23 compared to the Europeans' 1.45.

Croatia and Morocco met during the group stage. Croatia controlled the ball more (65% to 35%) but they had 5 shots with 2 on target, while Morocco had 8 shots with 2 on target, and the game ended with a draw. xG wasn't high for both teams - 0.52 for Croatia and 0.37 for Morocco. I'm backing up Morocco in this game because their motivation should be higher. Croatia 4 years ago played in the final and they feel very disappointed right now but Morocco hasn't been here before and 3rd place would be a fantastic achievement for the nation. It would be no surprise if there would be extra time because 3 of 6 games with Croatia or Morocco in the knockout stage in this tournament have not ended after 90 minutes.

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世界杯只剩下2场比赛了!周六，克罗地亚和摩洛哥将决出第三名。当然，两支球队都对没有参加总决赛感到失望。虽然克罗地亚输给了阿根廷，但摩洛哥没有对抗法国。在这场比赛中，我预测摩洛哥在常规时间内不会输。

我们可以说克罗地亚对阿根廷的表现令人失望。是的，欧洲球队控球率更高(61%比39%)，但他们没有任何可能导致进球的时刻。克罗地亚在5分钟内就崩溃了，他们在上半场就以0:2落后。克罗地亚12次射门只有2次射正，而阿根廷9次射门7次(!)射正。如果我们从xG的角度来看，克罗地亚的预期得分仅为0.52，而阿根廷的预期得分为2.34。

这是摩洛哥队有史以来第一次进入半决赛。他们在开场5分钟就失球了，但是他们打得很好。特别是在下半场，他们有很多危险的得分机会，但真正的问题是如何将球入网。在最后45分钟，摩洛哥有67%的控球率，8次射门，但只有1次射正。与此同时，如果他们能投进一些球，这个数字可能会更大，但法国队的后卫踢得太好了，他们无法控制球。总的来说，摩洛哥控球率更高(61%比39%)，他们有13次射门，3次射正，而法国有14次射门，3次射正。摩洛哥的xG为1.00，法国为2.10。

两支球队都在半决赛中首次失利。克罗地亚在本届比赛中总共丢了6次球，而摩洛哥只丢了2次球。是的，他们在对阵加拿大的比赛中丢了球，但那是因为摩洛哥球员的腿受伤了。另一方面，克罗地亚有6次进球，摩洛哥有5次成功，但不得不提的是克罗地亚对加拿大有4次进球。与加拿大的高比分比赛是克罗地亚xG更好的原因——他们的xG为1.39，摩洛哥为0.92。从防守角度来看(xGA)，摩洛哥的防守更好，为1.23，而欧洲为1.45。

克罗地亚和摩洛哥在小组赛阶段相遇。克罗地亚控球率更高(65%比35%)，但他们有5次射门2次射正，而摩洛哥有8次射门2次射正，比赛以平局结束。两支球队的xG都不高——克罗地亚0.52，摩洛哥0.37。在这场比赛中，我支持摩洛哥，因为他们的积极性应该更高。克罗地亚四年前参加了决赛，他们现在感到非常失望，摩洛哥以前从未参加过决赛，获得第三名对他们来说是一个了不起的成就。如果有加时赛也不足为奇，因为在淘汰赛阶段与克罗地亚或摩洛哥的6场比赛中，有3场在90分钟后还没有结束。