The Morocco national soccer team played in the World Cup four times from 1970 to 1998, being eliminated in the group stage in 1970, 1994 and 1998 and putting together its best performance in a Round of 16 exit in 1986. By advancing into the knockout round in 1986, Morocco became the first African nation to do so and just the second team outside of Europe or the Americas to do so in FIFA World Cup history.

Morocco failed to qualify for each of the last four World Cup tournaments but will make its long-awaited return to football’s most prestigious event this year in Russia.

Morocco’s Odds to Win World Cup: +50000

Only two of the 32 teams participating in the 2018 World Cup are going off as bigger underdogs than Morocco to win the event this year. Those two teams are Panama and Saudi Arabia, who are each paying +100000 on the World Cup betting futures board to win the tournament.

Morocco is going off at +50000 to win the World Cup in Russia. These are the same odds being given to Iran, South Korea and Tunisia. With only two wins across 13 all-time World Cup matches, it isn’t a big surprise to see Morocco as such a big long shot heading into this year’s tournament.

Morocco’s Odds to Win Group B: +1600

The good news for Morocco is that they are not the longest shot to win Group B, with that spot going to Iran as a +2800 underdog to win the group. The bad news is the Moroccans are still heavy underdogs, going off at +1600 to win their group.

This is due to the fact that Group B is expected to be a two-horse race between two of the world’s top teams in Spain (-185 to win the group) and Portugal (+185). The expectation is that these two teams will duke it out for the group’s top spot with the runner-up finishing in the second position to advance into the Round of 16.

Morocco will try to disrupt this projection as a +325 underdog to advance out of the group stage. A wager on Morocco to be eliminated in Group B would pay -500.

Morocco’s Best World Cup Bets

The most enticing bet on Morocco in the 2018 World Cup probably comes in the team’s first-round matchup against Iran. Morocco is a +130 favorite to win this head-to-head match against Iran (+250 to win, +205 to draw). While the talent gap between Morocco and the group’s top two teams will be difficult to breach, a win over Iran is well within reason.

While it may be difficult for Morocco to upset Spain or Portugal outright, the team’s excellent defensive structure could allow Morocco to keep these games closer than the general public might expect. Morocco conceded only one goal through eight qualifying matches, and while they will face much more firepower in the World Cup, they may still be able to limit the damage.

Bets on the spread against Portugal and Spain are more palatable than outright results. Morocco is a -120 favorite at +1 against Portugal (+100 at -1) and a -155 favorite at +1.5 against Spain (+120 at -1.5).

Morocco’s Players to Watch: Khalid Boutaib, Ayoub El Kaabi

Khalid Boutaib has come into his own as a striker over his last two seasons at the club level, scoring 32 goals across 58 games with Strasbourg in France and Yeni Malatyaspor in Turkey. Boutaib carried this momentum into an excellent showing during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, scoring four of the team’s 11 goals in the third round.

But at just 24 years old, Morocco’s brightest young star may be striker Ayoub El Kaabi. El Kaabi scored nine goals in leading Morocco to the 2018 African Nations Championship, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer and Total Man of the Tournament. These two strikers should be fun to watch.

Morocco’s Road to Russia

Morocco did not look much like a team that has failed to qualify for the World Cup in each of its last four qualifying attempts. The national team breezed through its group in the Confederation of African Football FIFA World Cup qualifiers, outscoring its opponents 11-0 en route to an undefeated 3-3-0 record to advance over Ivory Coast, Gabon and Mali.

Since picking up its last loss in June of 2017, Morocco enters a friendly in late May against the Ukraine with a 6-1-0 record over its last seven international games. In Morocco’s most recent match, Ayoub El Kaabi scored the first goal in a 2-0 win in a friendly against Uzbekistan.