Game 4 of the Round of 32: Netherlands vs. Morocco

For the knockout rounds of World Cup 2026, I'm making my picks based on four criteria: (1) support for Palestine, (2) how radical the democracy is (no, the US and the West are not the standard—the further right a country is politically, the worse it fares), (3) better popular music, and (4) immigration.

For the Netherlands vs. Morocco, the pick is Morocco, just.

Morocco is officially more supportive of Palestine, although it has maintained long-standing covert—and now official—ties with Israel, largely because Israel has been willing to overlook Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara. The Dutch government, by contrast, has generally been of the "stand with Israel" variety.

On democracy, the Netherlands is a liberal democracy, while Morocco is a constitutional monarchy that permits party politics but retains significant royal power.

On music, Morocco gets the edge.

Neither country scores well on immigration. Dutch politics has become increasingly shaped by anti-immigration and xenophobic sentiment, while Morocco has a reputation for mistreating migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Overall, Morocco advances, but only narrowly.