(Goal.com)
Can Croatia recreate their last world cup appearance making it to the final? Can Belgium improve from the bronze-place finish in the 2018 World Cup? Or will Canada and Morocco pose a threat to two of the powerhouses in this group?
Group F features all that and so much more so let's take a closer look at Group F and all the talent within it.
Belgium
(Outlook India)
Matches:
November 23rd vs Belgium
November 27th vs Morocco
December 1st vs Croatia
FIFA World Ranking: 2
Coach Martinez and his star-studded squad will hope to improve on their third-place finish in 2018, and the team will most certainly put to use the outrageous amount of creative and attacking talent. The charge of this creative attack will come from none other than Kevin De Bruyne. To backup up the abundant creative talent lies the recently awarded Yashin Trophy by France football, Thibaut Courtois in net will definitely be a nightmare for the Group F strikers.
Player To Watch:
Kevin De Bruyne: One of the main cores of this Belgium squad, Kevin De Bruyne is easily considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world. De Bruyne’s creativity on the field most certainly can't go unnoticed, add his powerful striker to his arsenal, Kevin is always a joy to watch cause every touch and pass is world-class and is one to watch.
Squad:
Coach: Roberto Martinez
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Royal Antwerp), Arthur Theate (Stade Rennes), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht), Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund), Timothy Castagne (Leicester City), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht).
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Youri Tielemans (Leicester City), Leander Dendoncker (Aston Villa), Amadou Onana (Everton), Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid), Charles de Ketelaere (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Brighton), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund).
Forwards: Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan), Michy Batshuayi (Fenerbahce), Dries Mertens (Galatasaray), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Lois Openda (Lens), Jeremy Doku (Stade Rennes).
Croatia
(The Athletic)
Matches:
November 23rd vs Morocco
November 27th vs Canada
December 1st vs Belgium
FIFA World Ranking: 12
Dalic’s 26 squad faces a new standard ahead of them heading into this World Cup and this is partly due to Croatian's last run to the World Cup final in 2018 where they lost to France. Yet, Coach Dalic heads into this tournament with many talents at his disposal in hopes of recreating 2018 and captained by Luka Modric, Croatia proves to have an experienced squad ready to take on the competitors of Group F.
Player To watch:
Luka Modric: We all know what the veteran Los Blancos star has up his arsenal, a few being spectacular out-of-the-box strikes and exceptionally ridiculous passes on the counter-attack. The Croatian captain has it all, and with him being at the age of 37 this world cup may very well be his last. So keep a lookout for the star Modric on the field and cherish as he takes on every pass, strike and dribble as the man laces on the boots once more for his country.
Squad:
Coach: Zlatko Dalic
Goalkeepers: Dominik Liakovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivo Grbic (Atletico Madrid), Ivica lvusic (Osijek)
Defenders: Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich), Borna Barisic (Rangers), Martin Erlic (Sassuolo), Dejan Lovren (Zenit St Petersburg), Borna Sosa (Vfb Stuttgart), Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Domagoj Voda (AEK Athens), Josip Juranovic (Celtic), Josip Sutalo (Dinamo Zagreb).
Midfielders: Lovro Majer (Rennes), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Luka Sucic (RB Salzburg), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Ivan Perisic (Tottenham Hotspur), Kristijan Jakic (Eintracht Frankfurt),
Forwards: Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Marko Livaja (Hadjuk Split), Bruno Petkovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Mislav Orsic (Dinamo Zagreb).
Canada
(Canada Soccer)
Matches:
November 23rd vs Belgium
November 27th vs Croatia
December 1st vs Morocco
FIFA World Ranking: 41
For Canada it truly has been 36 years in the making, the moments that led this team to qualify are a victory in itself to Canadian fans. Yet, as they take on Group F and all the other competitors, Coach Herdman will definitely use the same determined spirit that pushed them in succeeding in qualifying in hopes of creating some memories in Qatar. To do so, they will carry on with a young talented squad with the likes of Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, LOSC Lille's Jonathan David and FC Porto’s Stephen Eustaquio to put on a show that will capture the hearts of millions of Canadians and showcasing it to the rest of the world.
Player To watch:
Stephen Eustaquio: One of Canada’s highest-rated midfielders and as of recent performance has been in a goal-scoring tear for FC Porto. Stephen Eustaqio's commitment to the ball and control when passing is just pure class and is a huge difference-maker in Canada’s midfield and is one to watch for sure.
Squad:
Coach: John Herdman
Goalkeepers: Dayne St. Claire (Minnesota United), Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), James Pantemis (Montreal).
Defenders: Kamal Miller (Montreal), Joel Waterman (Montreal), Derek Cornelis (Panetolikos), Steven Vitoria (Chaves), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Sam Adekugbe (Hatayspor), Alistair Johnston (Montreal), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC).
Midfielders: Samuel Piette (Montreal), Liam Fraser (KMSK Deinze), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas), Stephen Eustaquio (Porto FC), Ismael Kone (Montreal), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto FC), David Wotherspoon (St Johnstone).
Forwards: Liam Millar (FC Basel), Junior Hoilett (Reading), Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), Jonathan David (LOSC Lille), Cyle Larin (Club Brugge), Ike Ugbo (Troyes), Lucas Cavallini (Vancouver Whitecaps).
Morocco
(Goal.com)
Matches:
November 23rd vs Croatia
November 27th vs Belgium
December 1st vs Canada
FIFA World Ranking: 22
Morocco heads into this world cup ranked 22nd in the world making them the second-best African Team after Senegal. The Atlas Lions head into the tournament with recently assigned head coach Walif Regragui who brought back into recent lineups Chelsea player Hakim Zyiech, which he believes will be a major impact on the team's success. Morocco also carries many other popular club players from the likeness of Achraf Hakimi, in-form Sevilla goalie Yassine Bono and ex-Wolves player Romain Saiss who will be Morocco’s captain. Coach Regraui will look to use the set of star players to put up a fight against the clear favourites of Belgium and Croatia.
Player To watch:
Azzedine Ounahi: A recent breakout player is 22-year-old midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, who has been deemed as one of the best dribblers in Ligue 1 currently. Adding that to his attacking creative style of play and with the return of Hakim Zyiech, the young star will definitely be someone to look forward to.
Squad:
Coach: Walid Regragui
Goalkeepers: Yassine Bono (Sevilla), Munir Mohamedi (Al Wehda), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Wydad Casablanca).
Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (PSG) Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich), Romain Saiss (Besiktas), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham), Achraf Dari (Brest), Jawad El- Yamiq (Valladolid), Yahia Attiat-Allal (Wydad Casablanca), Badr Benoun (Qatar SC),
Midfielders: Sofyan Ambrabat (Fiorentina), Selim Amallah (Standard de Liege), Abdelhamid Sabiri (Sampdoria), Azzedine Ounahi (Angers), Bilel El Khanouss (Genk ), Yahya Jabrane (Wydad Casablanca).
Forwards: Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea), Youssef En- Nesyri (Sevilla), Sofiane Boufal (Angers), Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse), Abde Ezzalzouli (Osasuna), Ilias Chiar (Queens Park Rangers), Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al- Ittihad), Walid Cheddira (Bari), Anass Zaroury (Burnley).
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