In a World Cup of upsets, Morocco and Croatia have punched above their weights while still playing exciting football.
“When you watch Rocky, you want to support Rocky Balboa and I think we are the Rocky of this World Cup. I think now the world is with Morocco.”
Of all the underdogs in pop culture, it is fitting that Morocco coach Walid Regragui chose Rocky from the eponymous film franchise.
Like the character of Rocky Balboa over the course of six films, Morocco have shown that they can take many a punch to the chin but still get up and continue fighting. It is no wonder that the Atlas Lions have emerged as every neutral fans’ favourite team in Qatar, having routinely punched above their weight.
Meanwhile, by knocking out favourites Brazil in the quarterfinals, Croatia have proven that their runners-up finish in Russia 2018 was no fluke. Despite seeing stars like Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic and Daniel Subasic retiring from international football, Croatia have brushed off the disappointment of a round of 16 finish at the 2020 European Championships and once again defied the odds at the World Cup.
Now, Morocco and Croatia are just one more win away from meeting in the final, and standing in their way are defending champions France and Lionel Messi-led Argentina respectively.
At the heart of Morocco and Croatia’s runs are two managers who command the respect of their squads and who have moulded their teams to play to their strengths against better teams.
Morocco and Croatia have disciplined sides that are miserly to boot. While the North African team has scored five goals and conceded only one (an own goal), Croatia have scored six while letting in three goals.
Looking only at the numbers, it is easy to brush aside Morocco and Croatia’s semifinal runs as smash and grab by two teams who seemingly only play on defence. A look at the expected goal numbers for the two sides’ matches show that rather than a sustained rear guard action, Morocco and Croatia have simply stuck to what they do best.
In the round of 16, Morocco and Spain had identical xG’s of 0.9 while in the quarterfinals, Morocco had an xG of 1.6 to Portugal’s 1.2.
Out of possession, the trio of Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi and Selim Amallah have been effective in closing down opposition playmakers and forcing teams out wide.
