Yesterday I cashed France to Win to Nil, with France dominating Paraguay in a 1-0 victory, controlling 76% of the possession compared to just 24% for Paraguay.<\/p>\n
Canada versus Morocco? Not so much. I expected goals, backing Over 2.5 Goals at +115 and Both Teams to Score at +100.<\/p>\n
Canada coach Jesse Marsch told reporters after his team lost 3-0 yesterday, eliminating them from the World Cup, that they were the better team.<\/p>\n
But you can\u2019t win if you can\u2019t score, and while Canada was the better team in the first half, the second half was a different story.<\/p>\n
Stats do support Marsch\u2019s argument \u2013 55% Morocco possession, 45% Canada. Morocco had four shots on goals, Canada with three. Morocco 0.82 expected goals, Canada 0.84. Big chances created \u2013 Morocco 2, Canada 1. Duels won \u2013 Morocco 59, Canada 54.<\/p>\n
Queue the conspiracy theories about Marsch and his star player, Alphonso Davies, with Davies, nursing a hamstring injury, not able to play yesterday. Davies was forced to watch most of the tournament, except for 15 minutes in the Round of 32 match against South Africa. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an injury where you can\u2019t take any risk,\u201d Davies told reporters after yesterday’s match. \u201cIt\u2019s something that is very delicate, with my game, a lot of speed, lot of running, it\u2019s tough to give everything. I was doing my sprints and every time I took a step, I felt something. Mentally for me it was tough to sit and watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morocco is an elite team, ranked sixth in the world by FIFA, but having Davies in the starting lineup no question would have been a difference maker in that first half.<\/p>\n
What would the game have looked like if Canada scored in that first half? Would they have come out looking stronger in the second half? Canada really needed a goal after dominating early on. It\u2019s just unfortunate Davies was never healthy enough to get out there.<\/p>\n
So on to 2030. Two Round of 16 matches are on the schedule today.<\/p>\n