The Round of 16 comes to an end tonight as the four teams will battle for the final two quarterfinal spots. In the earlier kick-off, Morocco will take on one of the tournament favourites Spain, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal side will face the Swiss to wrap up the pre-quarterfinals.
Morocco vs Spain - 8:30 pm IST
The two teams will battle in the penultimate FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 fixture on Tuesday, as surprise package Morocco meets La Roja, which has faltered in their last two matches after a strong start.
Spain finished second in Group E despite opening its account with a 7-0 demolition of Costa Rica. Luis Enrique's men then drew 1-1 against Germany and lost 2-1 to Japan to end the group stage with just 4 points.
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While the Europeans might still be counted as favourites despite their slump in form, they will come up against a pumped-up Moroccan side that finished top of Group F ahead of Croatia and Belgium.
The last-standing African team in the tournament is on an eight-game unbeaten run across all competitions, during which time it has conceded only two goals. It will be a historic game for the team as Regragui's men will look to be the first Moroccan squad to reach the quarter-finals.
The last time the two sides met in a FIFA World Cup was just four years ago in Russia when they played out a 2-2 draw in the group stage.
Tonight's match, to be played at the Education City Stadium, in Al-Rayyan, at 8:30 pm IST, is expected to be a close contest.
Portugal vs Switzerland - 12:30 am IST
Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Neymar have all booked a quarterfinal spot. The onus is now on Cristiano Ronaldo to join his fellow superstars as his Portugal side takes on Switzerland.
While his form and fitness have been on the wane in recent matches, Ronaldo will still be the man in focus as he is playing his final World Cup. Portugal has a good track record against Switzerland, and has won four of the last five encounters between the two sides.
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However, Switzerland won the last time the two teams met, which was in the UEFA Nations League on June 12. The Swiss registered a 1-0 win in that game and are heading into the match on the back of a tense 3-2 victory over Serbia.
Despite losing the final group game to South Korea 2-1, Portugal will still be the favourite tonight.
The match will be played at the Lusail Stadium at 12:30 am IST.
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