Breaking Down Canada's Group F Opponents at the World Cup
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At Canada’s first World Cup in 36 years, it will be teamed with Croatia, Morocco and Belgium in Group F when play begins in late November.
Ahead of the finals in a few months, we take a look at Team Canada’s opponents to help you with your sports betting options.
Croatia
Finalists at the 2018 World Cup against all the odds, Croatia is not what it was then. It managed to stun the world with a place at the final in Russia four years ago, but with two of its knockout victories coming through penalty shootouts, Croatia didn’t have the best run to the last two either.
What’s more, much of that squad is not on the roster now. Ivan Perišić and Luka Modric still make up some extraordinary talents available for manager Zlatko Dalić, but it has lost Vedran Ćorluka, Ivan Rakitić, Danijel Subašić and Mario Mandžukić from the team that almost took over the sport in 2018.
Regardless, Croatia is still a threat, and despite an underwhelming Euro 2020 where it lost in the round of 16 to Spain, it is still the favorite to beat Canada at 1.71 with FanDuel Sportsbook. Ultimately, the best attribute to Croatia’s team is its experience and how not many national sides in the world have more caps running throughout its squad.
It’ll bring to the table a better squad in terms of both talent and experience.
Morocco
If Canada is going to get three points against any Group F opponent, it’s going to be Morocco. From one perspective, Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David and Cyle Larin outshine some Moroccan stars, but across the board, Morocco’s squad runs deeper throughout midfield, attack and defense.
Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi is one of the best right-backs in the world, and he remains the top name for Morocco.
It also has Romain Saïss as captain, and he has played in the Premier League for many years and now plays with Canada's captain, Atiba Hutchinson, at Besiktas. Noussair Mazraoui of Bayern Munich is another notable name, and Morocco is also boasting a better goalkeeper in its ranks with Yassine Bounou of Sevilla its No. 1 shot-stopper.
Youssef En-Nesyri is the main forward for Morocco, and he is coming into the new season with Sevilla in excellent form. Munir El Haddadi is another name from Sevilla who threatens up top for the Atlas Lions, and their midfield also sees stars like Sofyan Amrabat, Amine Harit, Aymen Barkok, and the notorious Adel Taarabt.
There isn’t much separating Canada and Morocco heading into the World Cup, but the latter probably does have a better 23-man squad.
Belgium
Belgium, despite not winning anything over the past decade of producing some of the sport’s best players, still comes into every major tournament as one of the favorites.
It is led by the legendary Eden Hazard of Real Madrid as the national team captain. Joining him are Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Dries Mertens, Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Youri Tielemans, Thorgan Hazard, Axel Witsel, and Yannick Carrasco make up some of the best talents in the world hailing from Belgium.
If Belgium were to win the Cup, nobody would be surprised. Now, up against a Canadian side with nowhere near the talent the Red Devils boast of, it’s going to be a struggle for the Maple Leafs in that game in November.
Belgium to beat Canada is 1.29 with FanDuel, while Belgium is 13.0 to win the World Cup as the seventh favorite, compared to Canada’s 181.0.
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