Qatar World Cup 2022: Group F preview
Group F consists of Belgium, Canada, Morocco and Croatia
In this article, we preview the teams in Group F and their World Cup 2022 chance – Group fixtures, route to World Cup qualification and key members of each squad.
Team Belgium
Manager: Roberto Martinez
World ranking: 2nd
World Cup 2018 performance: Third
Best World Cup performance: Third (2018)
Nickname: The Red Devils
Team Canada
Manager: John Herdman
World ranking: 41st
World Cup 2018 performance: Did not qualify
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (1986)
Nickname: Les Rouges (The Reds), Maple Leafs, (The) Canucks, Les Voyageurs (The Voyageurs)
Team Morocco
Manager: Walid Regragui
World ranking: 22nd
World Cup 2018 performance: Group stage
Best World Cup performance: Round of 16 (1986)
Nickname: The Atlas Lions
Team Croatia
Manager: Zlatko Dalic
World ranking: 12th
World Cup 2018 performance: Runners-up
Best World Cup performance: Runners-up (2018)
Nickname: Vatreni (The Blazers), Kockasti (The Checkered Ones)
Group F members
Group-stage fixtures – UK time
Team Belgium fixtures:
- Wednesday, November 23, 19:00 – Belgium v Canada
- Sunday, November 27, 13:00 – Belgium v Morocco
- Thursday, December 1, 15:00 – Belgium v Croatia
Team Canada fixtures:
- Wednesday, November 23, 19:00 – Canada v Belgium
- Sunday, November 27, 16:00 – Canada v Croatia
- Thursday, December 1, 15:00 – Canada v Morocco
Team Morocco fixtures:
- Wednesday, November 23, 10:00 – Morocco v Croatia
- Sunday, November 27, 13:00 – Morocco v Belgium
- Thursday, December 1, 15:00 – Morocco v Canada
Team Croatia fixtures:
- Wednesday, November 23, 10:00 – Croatia v Morocco
- Sunday, November 27, 16:00 – Croatia v Canada
- Thursday, December 1, 15:00 – Croatia v Belgium
Route to World Cup qualification
Team Belgium:
Top of the world rankings going into the qualifying, Belgium were placed in a qualifying group with Belarus, Wales, the Czech Republic and Estonia.
With a perfect record of six victories and two draws, they finished first in their group.
At the end of the qualification stage, Belgium finished five points ahead of Wales and attained automatic qualification for Qatar.
They played the Welsh in their opening match, winning 3-1 thanks to goals from Thorgan Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, and Manchester City. Lukaku scored from the penalty spot.
They plaed Wales once again to complete qualification, with De Bruyne ensuring he scored both the first and last goals of his nation’s qualifying efforts.
Team Canada:
Canada didn’t make the top five CONCACAF teams that received a bye to the third stage of World Cup in Qatar because they were ranked 73rd in the world at the time.
Therefore, to make it to what would be just their second appearance in the World Cup finals (their first appearance was in 1986), they would have to go the long way.
Despite beginning in the first round of qualifying, Canada was among the top-ranked teams. They advanced to round two by winning all four of their group stage contests against Suriname, Bermuda, Aruba, and the Cayman Islands.
This then followed by a two-legged playoff matchup with Haiti, which Canada won 4-0.
With qualification secured, a final-day defeat to Panama by a goal to nil did little to dampen spirits – and Canada could look forward to their first World Cup finals in 36 years.
Team Morocco:
Morocco received a bye into the second round of the African qualification process for the 2022 World Cup because they came into the competition as the fifth-best African country.
With six victories over Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Sudan in their second-round group matches, Morocco got off to the best possible start.
They scored 20 goals, conceded one, and easily advanced to the third rounds of the qualifying stage.
Morocco took on DR Congo with World Cup qualification on the line.
In the away leg, Morocco fell behind in the 12th minute, but Tarik Tissoudali equalized in the 76th to ensure that they shared the spoils.
The second leg was a tad more comfortable with Tissoudali opening scoring and Azzedine Ounahi scoring a brace and fullback Achraf Hakimi putting the chery on top.
DR Congo scored a consolation goal, however by then the game had gone and Morocco were well on the way to Qatar.
Team Croatia:
Croatia, runner-ups in the last World Cup in Russia were pot-one seeds for the UEFA European World Cup qualifying.
#WorldCup2022 | Croatia 🇭🇷
🔑 Luka Modrić and his compatriots will hope to follow up on their remarkable journey to the @FIFAWorldCup final four years ago and make inroads again at Qatar.
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Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta were all in their group, but they overcame them all to take first place by a very narrow margin.
In the decisive match of the qualifying round, Croatia took on Russia to determine who would earn automatic qualification to Qatar and also top spot.
Russia had the upper hand, with 22 points to Croatia’s 20.
But an own-goal in the 81st minute gave Croatia a slim home victory.
Russia was thus invited to the playoffs, though they were ultimately eliminated after the invasion of Ukraine.
Ones to watch
Team Belgium:
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku – 5
Most assists: Hans Vanaken – 4
Talisman: Kevin De Bruyne
The ‘golden generation’ of Belgium gets what appears to be its last hurray and shot at the World Cup show as Roberto Martinez’s men head into the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Kevin De Bruyne and his international teammates have long carried heavy huge expectations even as young players and those expectations have only gotten worse.
They reached the World Cup quarterfinals in 2014, losing to Argentina and then finished third in Russia at the 2018 World Cup which was by far their best-ever World Cup performance but there remains a feeling that De Bruyne and his compatriots can do more.
Team Canada:
Top scorer: Cyle Larin – 13
Most assists: Alphonso Davies – 8
Talisman: Alphonso Davies
In addition to being the star of the Canadian team, Alphonso Davies is also one of the best young players competing in this World Cup and in the world really.
What accolades or praise are left at this point that Davies hasn’t already received? Since his time with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS, he has advanced significantly. The youngsters is one of those rare few players able to dictate the game from the right back position with only Liverpool’s two full-backs at his level in terms being so influential for their respective team.
The fact that Davies is Bayern Munich’s starting left-back speaks for itself. But he’ll go back to being a winger for Canada.
The 22-year-old is a Champions League winner, a Bundesliga winner and well experienced to dealing with the pressures at the highest level and the Canadians will hope that he causes havoc on the defenses of all their opponents.
Team Morocco:
Top scorer: Ayoub El Kaabi – 5
Most assists: El Kaabi – 3
Talisman: Achraf Hakimi
Achraf Hakimi has been hugely impressive with his consistent plays at the national team level and also at club level with Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and now Paris Saint-Germain. Morocco’s superstar right-back Hakimi is definitely one to watch.
Hakimi’s forays down the Moroccan flanks, and precise crosses will be crucial to providing service in the box for thes stiker to feed on.
Team Croatia:
Top scorer: Ivan Perisic, Luka Modric and Maria Pasalic – 3
Most assists: Andrej Kramaric – 3
Talisman: Luka Modric
Luka Modric, former Ballon d’Or winner [in 2018] remains of the best players in his position and remains central to the success of Croatia together with compatriots, Rakitic, Kramaric, Perisic, Lovren and Brozovic.
The 37-year-old will captain the team and direct its offensive play from central midfield.
Dalic led Croatia all the way to the World Cup final four years ago in Russia in unexpected fashion as he took charge of the Vatreni squad in October 2017; enjoying a stunning summer in 2018.
The hope will be that this squad can go the extra mile this time as this may be the last time we see this set of players playing together at a World Cup as age and injuries start impacting them.
Dalic will hope for a memorable campaign for his side; this time with them on the happier side at the end of it all.
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