Canadian Bettors Backing Morocco in World Cup Round of 16 Matchup

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While Canadian bettors have shown up to support their team at sportsbooks during the World Cup, that good faith has run out ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Morocco.

Leading Canadian sportsbooks report that the public is backing Morocco to take down Canada and to advance to the quarterfinals.

Key Takeaways

  • Only 28% of bet365’s Canada bettors have picked their team to advance out of the Round of 16.
  • Canada had never won a World Cup match until this tournament.
  • Morocco is a -250 to -270 favorite to reach the quarterfinal.

Canada, one of three North American host countries, had lost all six of its World Cup matches before the 2026 tournament. A 1-1-1 record in the group stage was enough to advance to the knockout round, where Les Rouges took down South Africa with a lone goal two minutes into stoppage time after the full 90.

However, only 28% of Canadian bettors are backing their team to take down Morocco, according to bet365 insights shared with Covers. The sportsbook expects that number to increase as activity picks up closer to Saturday’s kickoff.

All of Canada’s matches have drawn heavy interest. Pre-match wagers at bet365 were, on average, an 80% increase on the total reported before the UEFA Champions League Final. In-play bets were about the same as the UCL Final.

The average stake size has also been larger in the World Cup than it was ahead of the Champions League Final, with the exception of a matchup with Qatar that ended 6-1 in the host’s favour.

At bet365, 46% of bettors who picked Canada to reach the quarterfinal placed their wagers before the tournament began, with those World Cup odds reaching as high as +700 (12.5% implied chance). Those Canada World Cup odds to reach the quarters are down to +200 (33.3% chance).

bet365 has offered 10 super boosts for Canada during the World Cup and seven were winners, including an offer for Canada to score in its opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina, for which the odds were boosted from -450 to +100. More than 300,000 super boost bets were placed by Canadian customers.

A super boost offer will be available before Saturday’s match.

What do FanDuel bettors have to say?

FanDuel bettors in Ontario, like bet365, is showing lopsided support for Morocco, the fourth-place finisher at the 2022 World Cup, in Saturday’s match.

The sportsbook reports that a sizable 61% of tickets are backing Morocco, 25% predict a draw, and 14% are in favour of Canada. These percentages are in the regulation market, meaning the score after 90 minutes and stoppage time. Extra time and penalty shootouts are not counted in this market.

The three most-bet goalscorers are Morocco’s Ismael Saibari (+160), Canada’s Jonathan David (+300), and Morocco’s Ayoub El Kaabi (+160). They are three of the four most likely scorers in the match.

Only Morocco’s Brahim Diaz (+220) is missing from the list of the most-likely scorers, according to FanDuel.

FanDuel noted that the most popular games in Ontario thus far were Canada against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Canada against South Africa.

Odds from the time of writing suggest that Canada (+215) has a 31.8% chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals. Morocco (-270) has a 73% chance.

World Cup odds

FanDuel’s World Cup odds have France (+175) as a clear favorite, followed by Argentina (+410) and Spain (+550). England (+850), Brazil (+1,200), and Portugal (+1,300) lead the chase pack.

Further down the board, Morocco is 10th at +3,500. Canada is 14th at +25,000.

Fellow North American hosts Mexico and the USA are tied for seventh at +3,000.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

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