Football Bet of the Day: Close tie on the cards in Foxborough

France are favourites to win the World Cup, but Les Bleus face a considerable hurdle in the form of a quarter-final tie with Morocco in Foxborough on Thursday (4pm local, 9pm BST, BBC One).

The Atlas Lions made no mistake in beating hosts Canada 3-0 at the last-16 stage of the international extravaganza and Mohamed Ouahbi’s men could prove difficult opponents for France to master. Read on for my Football Bet of the Day for Thursday 9 July...

France’s fearsome attack has seen Les Bleus to the head of the World Cup outright market and there is no doubt that there is plenty of quality in a forward line of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola.

Didier Deschamps’ men were mighty impressive when beating Sweden 3-0 at the last-32 stage of the World Cup, but it hasn’t all been comfortable successes for the European giants.

France needed 66 minutes to break down Senegal in their opening North American contest and that success wasn’t anywhere near as dominant as the 3-1 scoreline suggests.

Paraguay’s aggressive and physical tactics were cited as the reason France could only beat the South Americans 1-0 in the last 16, but a 70th-minute Mbappe penalty was all that separated the two teams.

Les Bleus created an expected goals figure of only 1.45 from 76 per cent possession against Paraguay, and that lack of quality chances can be attributed somewhat to France’s performance.

Of course, if Deschamps’ men click in attack and are allowed plenty of space to run into, they are capable of putting three or four goals past any team in the world, but Morocco do not rate as a side to give France an easy ride.

France vs Morocco Odds

The Atlas Lions defended resolutely to keep Canada at bay, before taking their chances to beat their last-16 rivals 3-0.

Ouahbi’s men have conceded expected goal numbers of only 0.84, 0.24, 1.22, 0.51 and 1.26 in their five World Cup games, and with matches coming against Brazil, Scotland, Haiti, the Netherlands and Canada, the Atlas Lions haven’t been playing a bunch of no-hopers.

Achraf Hakimi and Noussair Mazraoui are excellent full-backs who can stop France in wide areas, but it’s not all just about keeping Les Bleus at bay.

Morocco can call on the excellent Ayyoub Bouaddi and Neil El Aynaoui in central midfield areas, and the duo could have the edge on their direct opposition, Adrien Rabiot and Kouadio Kone.

If the Atlas Lions are able to gain some control of the central areas, they may be able to limit the supply to France’s forward line.

The numbers suggest that Morocco have the defensive fortitude, spirit and quality to limit good teams to minimum chances, and even if a quarter-final clash with France proves too much for the Atlas Lions, it’s unlikely to be a high-scoring or wide-margin win for Les Bleus.

Taking under 2.5 goals appears the best angle on Thursday’s huge World Cup last-eight Foxborough showdown.

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Pre-Match Bet Builder & Single bets on qualifying Player selections. Selected leagues & markets only. Applies to Price Boosts & Turbo Boosts. Extra-time will count. T&Cs Apply.

Sub Switch

Pre-Match Bet Builder & Single bets on qualifying Player selections. Selected leagues & markets only. Applies to Price Boosts & Turbo Boosts. Extra-time will count. T&Cs Apply.

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