World Cup third-place match pick, odds

The third-place match at any World Cup feels a little bit like a letdown. Both teams in this game, Croatia and Morocco, will be distraught to not be playing for the Jules Rimet Trophy on Sunday, but winning a bronze medal at the biggest tournament on the planet would be a historic achievement for any nation, especially two countries that aren’t known as traditional soccer powers.

From a gambling point of view, most casual bettors will likely skip this game and just worry about the final, but the cash you win on the third-place match is just as green as the money you win on the final.

The third-place match is set to take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET Saturday on FOX.

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Croatia vs. Morocco prediction

Normally, handicapping motivation isn’t the best idea when it comes to elite professional sports. But there are some situations when it’s unavoidable. This is one of the latter. 

Although they won’t admit it, this has to be a tough match for Croatia to get up for. The runners up in 2018, the Checkered Ones came painfully close to getting to a second straight final. And while just getting this far is a huge success for a country of just four million people, it’s unlikely the Croatian National Team will look at it that way right now.

The core of this team, which is headlined by Luka Modric in midfield, knows that this was their last opportunity at winning a major trophy. A bronze medal is nice and all, but for a veteran team that finished second four years ago and came within 90 minutes of getting back to the final, you can see a letdown coming.

On the other hand, this is a monumental match for Morocco. They can become the first African and first Arab nation ever to win a medal at a World Cup. The Atlas Lions will be heartbroken not to be playing for the trophy, but the stakes are still quite high for a team that came into this tournament as a triple-digit longshot.

And even if you don’t buy into the motivational narrative, Morocco has quite simply been better than Croatia in Qatar.

Betting on the World Cup?

Prior to their 2-0 defeat to France in the semis, the Atlas Lions had allowed just one goal (and it was an own goal) throughout their first five matches. Furthermore, they pitched shutouts against Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal and held those four sides to just 3.4 total expected goals.

Croatia, meanwhile, were a scrappy outfit that knew how to hang around in games and never beat themselves. The Croatians were fortunate on a number of occasions in this tournament, so it wasn’t a huge shock that they got overrun by Argentina.

Motivation and form both point to Morocco being a live underdog on Saturday.

Croatia vs. Morocco pick

Morocco to win in 90 minutes (+200, FanDuel)