WC 2002-2022
Croatia vs Morocco
No meeting in this window
—
WC 2026 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · KNOCKOUT-ONLY MEETING
🇭🇷
Croatia
GROUP LFIFA #113 PL
vs
🇲🇦
Morocco
GROUP CFIFA #84 PL
WHAT THIS MATCHUP MEANS
The story before a ball is kicked
Croatia arrive in Group L as the top-fifteen FIFA seed with 3 Premier League players in their squad. Morocco sit in Group C as the top-fifteen FIFA seed with 4 PL regulars.
They sit in different groups, so the only routes to a meeting run through the knockout rounds. For both to face each other, Croatia need to top or qualify from Group L and Morocco the same from Group C, then progress through R32 onto a shared half of the bracket.
The pre-match weight of evidence leans Croatia's way only just. Below: a six-dimension head-to-head, the Premier League club distribution per squad, and the Onside verdict.
INTERACTIVE · COMBINED DREAM XI
Build the best XI from BOTH squads
Tap any pitch slot to pick from Croatia + Morocco. Switch formation any time. Saved on this device.
0 / 11CRO 0·MAR 0
Sources: official 26-man squads via football-data.org · Premier League roster fallback when feed lags. Loading saved picks…
HEAD-TO-HEAD · 6 DIMENSIONS
Croatia vs Morocco — where each one wins
Each row scores the two teams 0–100 on a dimension. Longer bar = stronger. The colour-coded chip on the right names the winner of each axis.
FormHow strong they are on paper (FIFA world ranking)
MAR +390
93
PL footprintHow many Premier League players are in the squad
MAR +414
18
Host edgeWhether they have home advantage as a host nation
LEVEL0
0
Group seedSeed position in their group of four
LEVEL75
75
ConfedTheir confederation's historical tournament strength
CRO +3292
60
ExperienceA proxy for tournament heritage (rank + confederation)
CRO +2894
66
Croatia
Morocco
SQUAD CLUBS · PL PERSPECTIVE
Whose PL players are at the World Cup
If you own any of these clubs' assets in FPL, this matchup matters to your pre-season — tournament minutes here become Saturday minutes in August.
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Croatia's 3 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Croatia's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Man City leads with 2 players (67%).
Man City2 · 67%
Spurs1 · 33%
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Morocco's 4 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Morocco's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Man Utd leads with 1 player (25%).
Man Utd1 · 25%
Crystal Palace1 · 25%
West Ham1 · 25%
Sunderland1 · 25%
ONSIDE VERDICT
Edge to Croatia · but narrowly
- ·Historical confederation strength leans heavily Croatia's way — every WC since 1934 has been won by a UEFA or CONMEBOL side.
REFERENCE · AXIS BREAKDOWN
| Axis | Croatia | Morocco | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | 90 | 93 | MAR +3 |
| PL footprint | 14 | 18 | MAR +5 |
| Host edge | 0 | 0 | level |
| Group seed | 75 | 75 | level |
| Confed | 92 | 60 | CRO +32 |
| Experience | 94 | 66 | CRO +28 |
OTHER COMPARISONS
HEAD-TO-HEAD · MODEL RATINGS
Croatia vs Morocco
CROATIA
MOROCCO
FORM SCORE
84
88
ATTACK
82
85
DEFENCE
75
79
EXPERIENCE
73
76
SQUAD-STRENGTH BREAKDOWN
Strength by department
CROATIA
- Attack69
- Midfield64
- Defence59
- GK49
MOROCCO
- Attack72
- Midfield67
- Defence62
- GK52
PREVIOUS WORLD CUP ENCOUNTERS
No previous WC encounters
These two haven't met at a World Cup in our 2002-2022 window. Qualifier + friendly history will be added as football-data feed warms up.
Source: openfootball/worldcup.json (CC0). World Cup 2002 → 2022 inclusive.
KEY PLAYERS · BOTH SIDES
The match-defining names
CROATIA
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Croatia.
View full Croatia squad →MOROCCO
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Morocco.
View full Morocco squad →WC MATCHDAY BRIEF · ONE LIST, TWO SEASONS
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