Canada drawn in Group F with Belgium, Morocco, Croatia at World Cup

Canada will face Belgium, Morocco and Croatia in Group F in the opening group stage of the World Cup in Qatar this November.

While there were perhaps tougher destinations — Spain and Germany were drawn in Group E — it is a challenging group for the 38th-ranked Canadian men.

Star-studded Belgium moved into top spot in the FIFA world rankings in September 2018 and stayed there until this week, when it was leapfrogged by Brazil.

No. 16 Croatia was runner-up to France in the 2018 World Cup. This time around it won Group H in European qualifying with a 7-1-2 record, finishing ahead of Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta while outscoring the opposition 21-4.

No. 24 Morocco went unbeaten in African qualifying, securing its World Cup berth with a 5-2 aggregate win over the Democratic Republic of Congo after going 6-0-0 in its initial group.

Canada was the last ball taken in the draw for the tournament, which runs Nov. 21 through Dec. 18.

The Canadians drew France, Hungary and the Soviet Union as first-round opponents in their only other visit to soccer’s showcase — Mexico ’86. Canada lost all three matches and was outscored 5-0.

Friday’s draw had Canada in Pot 4, which featured the lowest-ranked qualified teams. Rules of the draw meant that the Canadians could not be put in a group with fellow CONCACAF qualifiers Mexico and the U.S.

The draw took place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center with actor Idris Elba and broadcaster Reshmin Chowdhury as hosts.

“Wow, what an emotion it is to be here in front of you,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “Now it’s getting serious.

“This World Cup will simply be the best World Cup ever. The greatest show on earth,” he added.

Referencing “some turbulences around the world,” Infantino called for the World Cup to bring people together “since we know that hundreds of millions of people are watching this draw and many leaders of the world are also watching.

“Our plea and the plea of the world football community to everyone, to all the leaders and to all the people of the world is stop the conflicts and the wars. Please, please engage in dialogue. Please engage in peace. Because we want this to be the World Cup of unity and the World Cup of peace.”

Friday’s draw featured a global lineup of football royalty with Cafu (Brazil), Lothar Matthaus (Germany), Adel Ahmed MalAllah (Qatar), Ali Daei (Iran), Bora Milutinovic (Serbia/Mexico), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Rabah Madjer (Algeria) and Tim Cahill (Australia) assisting.

Former U.S. international Carli Lloyd and former England player Jermaine Jenas also took part.

FIFA also unveiled La’eeb as the tournament’s official mascot. La’eeb, described as “adventurous, fun and curious,” is an Arabic word meaning super-skilled player.

GROUP F SCHEDULE

Nov. 23
Canada vs. Belgium
Morocco vs. Croatia

Nov. 27
Canada vs. Croatia
Belgium vs. Morocco

Dec. 1
Canada vs. Morocco
Croatia vs. Belgium

WORLD CUP DRAW

Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands

Group B: England, Iran, USA, Europe playoff winner

Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland

Group D: France, Intercontinental playoff winner (United Arab Emirates, Australia or Peru), Denmark, Tunisia

Group E: Spain, Intercontinental playoff winner (Costa Rica or New Zealand), Germany, Japan

Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia

Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

Canada drawn in Group F with Belgium, Morocco, Croatia at World Cup
Source: Healthy Lifestyle

Canadians Abroad Roundup: Will Laryea be next Canadian in Premier League?

January was a transformative month for the Canadian men’s national team. Wins in Honduras and at home to the U.S. – coupled with the El Salvador road victory on Feb. 2 – all but guaranteed its qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Fans could start monitoring flights to Doha with relative comfort. An arguably superior development transpired that month, too. Nine Canadian-eligible players secured loans or permanent transfers to new clubs in the transfer window. Many of those moves were steps up in terms of the quality and size of the respective teams. For instance, Stephen Eustaquio joined Porto on loan with an option to buy from Pacos de Ferreira. Now he’s transitioned from mid-table obscurity to a league title and into the Champions League, provided reports are correct and he joins the Dragoes permanently. Ike Ugbo was loaned to Troyes in Ligue 1 from Genk, an admittedly big club in Belgium with a rich history. But moving to a top-five European league, especially to a club under t...

Magbasa nang higit pa

Duterte allows more pork imports

President Rodrigo Duterte has allowed additional pork imports to boost the supply and stabilize meat prices, a Palace official said on Thursday. President Rodrigo Duterte. Contributed photo According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles, the President approved during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to increase the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) of pork imports for this year. He said the present MAV was 54,210 metric tons, but the DA projected that the annual demand for pork supply will reach 1,618,355 mt. “The DA has recommended that the MAV must be expanded just enough to cover the projected shortfall for the year,” Nograles said during a virtual press briefing. The MAV sets the limit on agricultural imports that have a customs duty lower than the out-quota customs tariff. Nograles said Duterte approved this proposal, along with the creation of a sub-task group on economic intelligence “to go after smugglers, profiteer...

Magbasa nang higit pa

In anticipated season debut, Kyrie Irving scores 22 as Nets beat Pacers

NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving was just the jolt the Brooklyn Nets needed to escape a midseason slump. He can only provide it on a part-time basis, as his refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus means he can’t play in New York. So for now, Irving will enjoy every chance he gets on the road _ while still holding out hope he’ll be able to put on a show for his own fans. “I know what the consequences were, I still know what they are,” Irving said Wednesday night. “But right now, I’m just going to take it one day at a time, like I said, and just enjoy this time that I get to play with my guys. “However it looks later in the season, then we’ll address it then.” Irving scored 22 points in his first game of the season, helping the Nets rally for a 129-121 road victory over the Indiana Pacers. After being held out of the team’s first 35 games because he refused to get vaccinated, Irving started and played 32 minutes in his highly anticipated season debut. “The game of basketball i...

Magbasa nang higit pa

Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Hanapan ang Blog na Ito