The 2022 World Cup enters the final day of Round of 16 play on Tuesday and we get an intriguing matchup of two teams that have played each other once in the past 60 years. Spain and Morocco meet at Education City Stadium with kickoff set for 10 a.m. ET on FOX.
Spain is a -180 favorite to win in regular time at DraftKings Sportsbook and has -380 odds overall to advance. Morocco is +600 in regular time and +295 overall. This is the fourth time the two sides will meet in international competition. Spain is 2-1-0 with a pair of wins in World Cup qualifying in 1961, and a draw in group play at the 2018 World Cup.
The match will be officiated by an all-Argentinean crew with Fernando Rapallini serving as the referee. The two assistants will be Juan Pablo Belatti and Diego Bonfa. This is Rapallini’s third match of the 2022 World Cup. He was in charge for a pair of group stage matches, including Morocco vs. Croatia and Serbia vs. Switzerland. In the 0-0 Morocco-Croatia draw, he handed out one yellow card to Morocco. In the Swiss 3-2 win over Serbia, he handed out seven yellow cards to Serbia and four to Switzerland.
Spain finished second in Group E with a 1-1-1 record, but led the group with a +6 goal differential. They’ve reached the Round of 16 four of the five tournaments since the turn of the century, winning it all in 2010 and most recently getting eliminated in the Round of 16 four years ago. Morocco is playing in their second ever Round of 16 after winning Group F with a 2-1-0 record. Their best previous finish was a loss in the Round of 16 at the 1986 World Cup.
Here’s a look at the full officiating crew ahead of Tuesday’s action (h/t Law 5 - The Referee):
- Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)
- Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti (ARG)
- Assistant Referee 2: Diego Bonfa (ARG)
- Fourth Official: Raphael Claus (BRA)
- Video Assistant Referee: Mauro Vigliano (ARG)
- Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
- Offside Video Assistant Referee: Nicolas Taran (URU)
- Support Video Assistant Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI)