Morocco vs United States Prediction: Over 2.5 goals and BTTS anticipated in this intriguing game

The first Olympic men's football quarterfinal will take place at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 2nd August 2024 between the United States and Morocco, the unexpected winners of Group B. Both countries finished with six points from their three group games, so we anticipate a tight and competitive 90 minutes between them, much like we witnessed in their November friendly match.

Hakimi, a right back for PSG, has proven to be incredibly talented, and he will be happy to be back at his home stadium in Paris. In addition to Amir Richardson, Rahimi, and Ezzalzouli's impressive displays, veteran goalkeeper Munir Mohamedi has appeared reliable. Morocco's performance against the 10-man Ukraine in the group stage was unexpected, but they proved their worth by crushing Iraq to end group play and winning a wild victory over Argentina. It will be like a home game for Morocco in Paris as they will create lots of opportunities and be greatly encouraged by their fan base.

The USMNT U23 team, however, has plenty to cheer about after winning their last two games and scoring seven goals to take second place in Group A behind tournament favorites France. They have also defeated New Zealand and Guinea. Tanner Tessmann in midfield, Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson in defense, and Griffin Yow, Paxten Aaronson, and Kevin Paredes in the front three are what make up the USA's formidable offensive line. Since the Atlas Lions will be under constant pressure to advance, Marko Mitrovic's USA team will need to play deep defense and attempt to hit Morocco on the counter. 

Morocco

Morocco's 2-1 loss against 10-man Ukraine in their match at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday prevented them from moving on to the next round. The Atlas Lions controlled most of the game and had over 65% of the ball possession, but Igor Krasnopir's goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time gave Ukraine a thrilling victory, leaving the team fuming after full-time.

This came after their contentious 2-1 victory over Argentina in the Group B opener when the 28-year-old forward Soufiane Rahimi scored goals in both halves to send La Albiceleste into loss on the first day of competition.

Tarik Sektioui's team is competing in its first Olympic football tournament in twelve years. They will hope to improve on their group-stage departure from 2012 when they finished third in Group D with two points out of a potential nine points after losing once and drawing twice.

United States

The United States easily defeated New Zealand 4-1 at the Allianz Riviera on Saturday afternoon, earning a significant victory in their quest for a quarterfinal spot. Gianluca Busio, Paxten Aaronson, Djordje Mihailovic, and Walker Zimmerman all scored goals to give the United States a comfortable four-goal lead. In the 78th minute, Jesse Randall gave New Zealand a response.

Three days prior, Les Bleus scored three goals in the second half against Team USA, with Alexandre Laccazette, Michael Olise, and Loic Balde all finding the scoresheet for Les Bleus in the Group A opener against host nation France.

Marko Mitrovic's team, competing in the Olympics for the first time in sixteen years, will be trying to avoid a recurrence of their 2008 campaign, in which they placed third in Group B with four points out of a possible nine and narrowly missed out on the knockout stages. The finest performance by Team USA at the Games was in 2000 in Australia, where they won Group C with five points out of a possible nine and defeated Japan in the quarterfinals on penalties.

They were defeated 3-1 by La Roja on September 26, three days before losing 2-0 to Chile in the bronze medal match, but they were no match for Spain in the semifinals. Team USA's strikers looked dangerous throughout the match, and midfielders Djordje Mihailovic and Gianluca Busio excelled. A replication of that performance would undoubtedly result in many goals being scored at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Expert Betting Tips

In four of the last five US games, there have been more than 2.5 goals scored. In addition, Morocco U23 has scored twice a game in its first three games for a total of six goals. They only failed to score two goals (or more) in the 2-1 loss to Ukraine U23, but they did manage three against Iraq and two against Argentina. In spite of this, the Atlas Lions had numerous opportunities to score during the game, with 17 goal attempts, 61% ball possession, and 2.19 xG.

There’s no doubt Morocco has the slight advantage but they have shown some defensive deficiencies, especially out wide. The USA will cause them problems with Yow and Paredes in particular, but expect the Atlas Lions to advance.