Later this month, Canadian soccer fans will officially see a 36-year wait come to an end when the men’s national team plays in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Team Canada, which made the World Cup following their impressive performances in continental qualification competitions, is being led by star players like Alphonso Davies, Cyle Larin, Jonathan David and Stephen Eustáquio, to name a few.
This men’s team is unlike any that Canadian soccer journalist John Molinaro says he has seen before. They’re “fearless,” he said, but despite this golden generation of emerging Canadian talent, the players are in for a “really steep” challenge when the competition kicks off.
That challenge is taking on European heavyweights Belgium and Croatia, and then top African team Morocco in the group stage of the tournament, said Molinaro, who is also the founder and editor of TFCRepublic.ca. At the end of group competition, the top two teams will advance to the knockout rounds of the 32-country tournament.
Here’s a look the nations Canada will be facing when the men’s FIFA World Cup kicks off on Nov. 20.
Canada’s first game in the World Cup will be on Nov. 23 against Belgium, which is ranked No. 2 in FIFA men’s rankings for international teams.
Belgium is a nation stacked with global talent, including star players like forward Romelu Lukaku and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who play on some of biggest club teams in the world. Belgium made the semifinals in 2018 and quarter-finals in 2014, but fell short to their opponents.
Luka Modrić (1st L) of Croatia vies with Zach Muscat of Malta during the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying match between Croatia and Malta in Rijeka, Croatia, on March 30, 2021.
Slavko Midzor/Xinhua via ZUMA Press
Only five of the 11 players who started the 2018 final are still on the team, but Croatia’s rebuild melts together that experienced core with a talented new generation.
Croatia, which finished top of their qualification group with seven wins, two draws and one loss on 21 goals scored and four against, likes to keep control of the ball and dictate the tempo of the game, said Molinaro.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how Canada sort of deals with that, how it sort of manages to break down Croatia, how it manages to win that sort of midfield battle because I think that’s going to be key for the game against the Croats,” he said.
“And just how it deals with Croatia’s quality because they’re like Belgium: they have players of top quality and top class pretty much at every position.”
Croatia sits in the 12th spot on FIFA’s men’s national team rankings.
Morocco, which is playing in their sixth World Cup after making its first appearance in 1970, will face Canada on Dec. 1.
While not at the same level as Belgium and Croatia, Morocco will be a formidable foe, both Forrest and Molinaro said.
In World Cup qualification, Morocco went undefeated, winning all six of their matches to finish first in the group. The team had scored 20 goals and only conceded one during qualification.
