Morocco vs Croatia Head-to-Head stats and numbers you need to know before Match 9 of FIFA World Cup 2022

Morocco and Croatia get their FIFA World Cup campaign underway when they go head-to-head at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.

Both sides will set out seeking to pick up an early advantage in Group F before group rivals Belgium and Canada square off later in the day.

Having failed to qualify for the World Cup in four consecutive attempts, Morocco ended their long absence four years ago when they booked their ticket to Russia.

However, their participation in 2018 was short-lived as they suffered a group-stage exit after finishing last in Group B with one point from a possible nine.

Morocco’s last major tournament came in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year when they were dumped out in the quarter-finals following a 2-1 extra-time loss to Egypt.

The Atlas Lions were involved in three warm-up friendlies ahead of the World Cup, claiming victories over Chile and Georgia on either side of September’s goalless draw against Paraguay.

Meanwhile, Croatia will have traveled to Qatar looking to go one step further than their 2018 World Cup campaign, when they suffered a 4-2 loss to France in the final.

Since then, Zlatko Dalic’s men have enjoyed relative success in their competitive outings, including a superb run in this year’s UEFA Nations League.

In a group that included Austria, Denmark and France, the Croatians picked up 13 points from their six matches to earn top spot in Group A1 and secure their place in the semi-finals of the competition.

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Morocco vs Croatia Head-to-Head stats

This will be the second-ever meeting between Morocco and Croatia, with their first encounter coming in the semi-finals of the 1996 Hassan II Trophy.

In what was an action-packed contest in Casablanca, the North Africans fought back from two goals down to tie the game before Croatia prevailed 7-6 on penalties.

Morocco form guide: W-D-W-W-W

Croatia form guide: W-W-W-W-W

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Morocco vs Croatia: Numbers you need to know before their FIFA World Cup 2022 encounter

Morocco secured their spot in Qatar thanks to a superb qualifying campaign. They went unbeaten in Group I to finish top of the table and set up a two-legged playoff clash against DR Congo.

After holding out for a 1-1 draw at the Stade des Martyrs on March 25, Regragui’s men returned to home soil days later, where they steamrolled the Leopards 4-1 to claim a 5-2 aggregate victory.

Walid Regragui’s men are unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions, claiming an impressive five wins and one draw since June’s 3-0 friendly defeat against the USA.

Like Morocco, Dalic’s side cruised through the World Cup qualifiers as they picked up seven wins and two draws from their 10 matches to collect 23 points and finish top of Group H.

Croatia backed up this performance with another show of class in the Nations League, where they also finished at the summit of Group A1, one point above runners-up Denmark.

The Vatreni head into Wednesday on a run of five consecutive victories, including a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in last Wednesday’s international friendly.