It’s official. Canada was drawn into Group F at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and their opponents will be Belgium (ranked second in the world by FIFA), Croatia (ranked 16th in the world by FIFA), and Morocco (ranked 24th in the world by FIFA). Canada was 33rd after the January qualifying window, but after dropping two matches in the latest qualifying window, they fell to 38th.
This is by far not the worst group Canada could have gotten drawn into but it is by far not the best. It is clear that there are no easy paths to winning a World Cup, however, if Canada was drawn into Group A alongside Qatar, Netherlands, and Senegal, they would have a much higher chance to make the round of 16 compared to getting out of Group F, however, they still have a fighting chance in to get out of their current group.
Canada will play Belgium in the first group stage match on November 23, Croatia on November 27, and Morocco on December 1.
All three of these fixtures will be difficult, but they're all winnable for a young and talented Canadian side that has a lot of depth and can compete with the best of the best.
Belgium is ranked 2nd in the world by FIFA for a reason. They have several talented players like Romelu Lukaku, Kevin DeBruyne, Eden Hazard, and Thorgan Hazard among many others. They are an aging squad but have shown time and time again that they have the talent, depth, tactics, and coaching to beat any team on any given day.
Belgium has been able to perform well in major tournaments. They beat England 2-0 to finish third place in the 2018 World Cup after losing 1-0 to France in the semis. In the 2020 Euros, they lost 2-1 to Italy in the quarterfinals. In both tournaments, they played great football but were ultimately taken out by the eventual tournament champions.
The game against Roberto Martinez’s side will definitely be Canada’s toughest. It also doesn’t help that it is Canada’s opening game. However, perhaps that is a blessing in disguise because it will be Belgium’s first game too. Both sides will need time to figure each other out, which could work in Canada’s favour.
Canada should stack up well against Belgium and their aging defense. Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are not the players they used to be. Canada’s front three of Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, and Cyle Larin will need to use their speed and creativity to outwork and outsmart the Belgian defense. Canada has a speedy roster and should be able to cause the Belgian defense trouble with their strong transition attack.
On the other side of the pitch, Canada’s back four will have a huge handful to deal with. Romelu Lukaku is not having the best of campaigns with Chelsea, but he can score at will. In addition, he is a force aerially and on crosses both of which Canada struggles to defend.
Both Eden and Thorgan Hazard are very well-rounded players. Kevin DeBruyne not only has a fantastic shot and is a consistent goal scorer (he has 11 goals and eight assists in 33 appearances with Manchester City this season in all competitions) but he is also one of the best playmakers and passers in the world. Lukaku is a threat but if Belgium wants to go far in this tournament, it will rest on KDB’s shoulders.
Even though John Herdman is a fantastic manager, the advantage goes to Martinez with his extensive experience in previous World Cups. Milan Borjan has been fantastic in goal in Canada’s qualifying campaign but Real Madrid’s and Belgium’s keeper Thibault Courtois is superior with more experience in major tournaments, more clean sheets, and more saves.
This game will be intense and both defenses will need to step up to cool down the offenses. I predict Alphonso Davies scores a late goal for Canada to equalize at 1-1 in stoppage time to get a huge draw after Romelu Lukaku scored an early goal for Belgium.
The next game they play does not get any easier and will be against Croatia. Croatia is another team that has many talented players, is well-coached, and has had immense success in previous international tournaments.
Croatia shocked the world with an incredible and memorable run to the finals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Ultimately, they lost the finals 4-2 to France but it was a run they soon won’t forget. After an underwhelming tournament at the EUROs last summer (even though they played Spain very well in the round of 16 before ultimately losing 5-3) they are looking to repeat their success of the last World Cup this November. They have the confidence that they can.
Croatia’s manager Zlatko Dalic is one of the best managers in the world and he has several talented players on his roster to work with.
Midfielders Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic are the two superstars on the roster and both have been fantastic for their clubs and country for the last few years. However, Modric is 36 years old, this will likely be his last World Cup and Perisic is nearing the end of his prime at 33 years old.
However, Croatia is a well-rounded side. Other star players that they have on their roster include Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Borna Barisic on defense; Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic in the midfield; and Ante Rebic, Andrej Kramaric, and Marko Livaja at forward.
Following the retirement of Daniel Subasic after the 2018 World Cup, Croatia is relying on a new goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. This could be Canada's distinct advantage.
This team is one of the older ones in the tournament, however, they still have several young pieces that make the team competitive in any game with Kovacic (27) and Brozovic (29).
Croatia fared extremely well in World Cup qualifying, winning their group, after winning seven games, losing one, and drawing two for 23 of a possible 30 points. They are impressive offensively and defensively, scoring a whopping 21 goals and only conceding four.
Croatia’s defense is still talented but it is not as young and fast as it was in 2018. Like against Belgium, Canada will have to rely on their speed, creativity, and explosive transition attack with their fullbacks to generate offensive chances.
While Croatia’s front three isn’t as strong as it used to be, especially with the retirement of striker Mario Mandzukic who would strike fear into any defender. But don’t sleep on Andrej Kramaric, though not as physical as Mandzukic, he is quite fast, creative, and can score in bunches.
The key for Canada will be to stay strong in the middle of the pitch. They not only have to be strong defensively on the back end and prevent Croatia from getting quality chances and shots on target, but they also have to control the midfield, control possession, and force the opponents to play at their pace which is all difficult to do against a spectacular Croatian midfield led by Modric, who is extremely dangerous with and without the ball on his foot.
Even at 36, when most players would contemplate retirement, he is still balling out at Real Madrid with three goals and seven assists in all competitions this season and what’s more impressive is the stuff he does that isn’t on the scoresheet, like controlling possession, creating counterattacks, passing, creating chances, etc.
I predict this game will end in a 2-2 draw. Larin and Davies score for Canada. Modric and Kramaric score for Croatia. Croatia scores first, Canada scores two, and Croatia ties it late.
Finally, their last match will come against Morocco. With their results in the first two matches, a win against Morocco could very well send them to the knockout round.
Even though this is Canada’s most winnable game, don’t kid yourself, Morocco is still a strong side.
Despite being huge underdogs in the 2018 World Cup, predicted to be blown out by Portugal, Spain, and Iran, they were competitive in each match. They lost 1-0 to Portugal and Iran and drew 2-2 with Spain, which was clearly the highlight of their tournament despite being grouped.
In 2022, they hope to win at least one group stage game and try to make the round of 16 for only the second time in their country’s history.
Saying Morocco was impressive in their World Cup qualifiers is an understatement. Not only did they win their group, winning all six of their games, but they scored 20 goals and only conceded once in those six matches. In the final round of qualifying, they handily beat DR Congo 5-2 on aggregate.
They will look to make some noise in Qatar this November after being eliminated by Mo Salah’s Egypt in extra time in the round of 16 at the African Cup of Nations after being favorites to win it all.
They have a handful of quality players in the middle of their prime, including Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss, (Canadian-born) Yassine Bounou, and Sofiane Boufal and they play a very interesting type of formation that lets them control possession, limit opponents’ scoring chances and allows them to attack in transition.
They are not without controversy, however. One of Morocco’s best players, Hakim Ziyech who is currently playing extremely well for Chelsea in the English Premier League, retired from international soccer at the end of 2021 at only 29 years old, citing his relationship with Moroccan manager, Vahid Halilhodžić. 24-year-old Ajax full-back, Noussair Mazraoui also rejected a call up for international duty because of his poor relationship with the manager.
Morocco plays a similar style of game to Spain, they like to hold on to the ball as long as possible and make many short passes to control possession. Eventually, the opposing defense will break down and they will capitalize on their offensive chance. Spain is much better at this type of football, but Morocco has shocked many teams with this style of play.
Considering Canada may not get a ton of time with the ball, they will have to make the best of the chances they do get. Morocco is a team that presses on offense and their backline moves up close to the center of the pitch. Because of this, if Canada’s defense is able to get multiple stops, they will be able to use their talented fullbacks and front three to get quality offensive chances using their excellent transition attack.
Canada’s skill in the midfield will also be a factor in preventing Morocco from keeping possession of the ball for the entire game.
Morocco will play hard, but ultimately their attempt to control possession for the entire game will be unsuccessful thanks to Canada’s excellent midfield and counterattack. Canada will score twice in the first half, thanks to goals from Jonathan Osorio and Sam Adekugbe. This will force Morocco to stop their tiki-taka style of play and force them to move up the pitch to try to score. They will ultimately score one late in the second half, but it will not be enough.
Canada will beat Morocco 2-1 and advance to the Round of 16. In the round of 16, they will defend extremely well against Spain, who controls possession for the majority of the game but Canada ultimately concedes a goal in the 114th minute and loses 1-0.
Despite the loss, Canada’s performance in the entire World Cup proves they are a formidable soccer nation and will only set up a more interesting tournament in 2026.
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