How Canada's World Cup Foes Fared in Final International Break
After a 2-0 loss to Uruguay and a 2-0 win over Qatar in the international break, the Canada men's team has one game remaining before the World Cup.
Its clash on Nov. 17 with Japan, less than a week before the World Cup begins, might provide some further insight into how it will fare on the biggest of stages. In the meantime, here's a look at how the team's fortunes are shaping up, as well as Group F foes Belgium, Morocco and Croatia.
Morocco Playing Well, but Beatable
According to the odds, Morocco offers Canada its likeliest victory at this winter’s World Cup. It is far from an easy game, however; Morocco went on a two-game unbeaten run against South American opposition during the international break.
First was a clash with Chile, where Morocco stunned fans with a 2-0 victory courtesy of a penalty from Sofiane Boufal and a goal from Abdelhamid Sabiri. With a subsequent 0-0 tie against Paraguay, the Atlas Lions head into the World Cup having no losses in the past four games.
The USMNT defeated Morocco last, in June. Given that Canada looks much better than the Americans these days, the team should be optimistic entering this game.
Canada is +210 to beat Morocco in what could be the Maple Leafs’ final game at the competition on Dec. 1.
Belgium Is a Solid Team
Although Belgium finished second in its Nations League group with three wins, it lost its recent game against the Netherlands 1-0. That marks two losses this season to the Dutch, but in the 1-0 loss in Amsterdam two weeks ago, Belgium looked much better. It had four shots on target from 11 attempts and possessed the ball 55% of the time.
What's more, it was missing some of its top players, such as Romelu Lukaku.
The recent international break also saw the Red Devils beat USMNT World Cup opponent Wales. Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne and Michy Batshuayi of Fenerbahçe scored a goal each that day in a 2-1 win.
Canada is +800 to beat Belgium on Nov. 23 in its first World Cup game.
Croatia Comes in On a Winning Streak
Croatia is the only team in Group F to head into the tournament after winning both games in the international break.
Croatia was a finalist for the last World Cup but lost 4-2 to France. After a rough few years since that loss in Russia, it heads into the World Cup with many wins in recent games.
Croatia first defeated Denmark in the recent international games, with Borna Sosa and Lovro Majer scoring a goal each. The 2018 World Cup finalists then won at Austria, as Luka Modrić continued to prove his value as his country's best player with goal No. 23 from 154 caps.
In Canada’s group, Croatia is easily the most in-form team right now.
Canada is +310 to beat Croatia on Nov. 27 in its second World Cup game of Group F.
