Jakarta (ANTARA) – Group F will bring together the two teams that entered the last four at the previous World Cup, namely Belgium and Croatia, the two outsiders in this group being the quarter-finals of the European Cup Africa Nations 2022 Morocco, and Concacaf country, Canada will appear for the second time in this competition.

Belgium and Croatia are favorites to emerge from the group stage, with both sides set to battle for top spot in Group F. Meanwhile, Canada will rely on talented young players such as the Lille striker Jonathan David and Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso. Davies.

Morocco will be the dark horse of this group, they will be reinforced by Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech.

Here are the profiles of the four Group F teams compiled from various sources:

BELGIUM

Best World Cup: Ranked third in the 2018 World Cup.

Best achievement in other competitions: Vice-champion of Europe 1980.

FIFA Ranking: 2

Belgium confirmed qualification for Qatar after finishing top of European Zone qualifier Group E, five points clear of second-placed Wales and unbeaten in eight games, winning six of them.

This World Cup will likely be the last chance for Belgium’s ‘golden generation’, who are yet to win an international trophy after finishing third at the 2018 World Cup.

Team: Belgium have a stellar squad on all fronts, but they will continue to rely on Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne and Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku. Eden Hazard can be decisive in a match, even though his performance has dropped since joining Real Madrid.

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge), Koen Casteels (Vfl Wolsburg)

Full-back: Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht), Toby Alderweireld (Antwerp), Leander Dendoncker (Aston Villa), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Arthur Theate (Rennes), Wout Faes (Leicester City)

Midfielders: Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid), Youri Tielemans (Leicester City), Amadou Onana (Everton), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia) Dortmund), Timothy Castagne (Leicester City), Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund (.

Forwards: Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan), Michy Batshuayi (Fenerbahce), Lois Openda (Lens), Charles De Ketelaere (AC Milan), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Jeremy Doku (Rennes), Dries Mertens (Galatasaray), Leandro Trossard (Brighton & Hove Albion.

Coach: Roberto Martinez coached the Belgium national team in 2016 after leaving Everton. The Spanish tactician is still in charge of leading Belgium at the 2022 World Cup.

key player: Kevin De Bruyne is one of the many best Belgian players. The Manchester City player has recorded 93 caps and scored 25 goals for his country.

Match schedule:
November 24 against Canada
November 27 against Morocco
December 1 against Korasia

CROATIA

The best achievement of the World Cup: finalist in 2018

Best achievement in other competitions: European Cup quarter-finals in 1996 and 2008.

FIFA Ranking: 12

Croatia continued their success at the 2018 World Cup by finishing top of their qualifying group to advance to the final in Qatar.

Croatia automatically qualified for the 2018 World Cup by beating Russia in their last Group H game and finishing one point ahead of their rivals. They only lost one game – against Slovenia in their opening game and conceded only four goals.

Team: Croatia are led by veteran midfielder Luka Modric, who won the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2018 World Cup. Modric will be joined by other world-class midfielders such as Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic, while up front will be Ivan Perisic and André Kramaric.

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivica Ivusic (Atletico Madrid), Ivo Grbic (Osijek).

Full-back: Domagoj Vida (AEK Athens), Dejan Lovren (Zenit Saint Petersburg), Borna Barisic (Rangers), Josip Juranovic (Celtic), Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Borna Sosa (Vfb Stuttgart), Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich) , Martin Erlic (Sassuolo), Josip Sutalo (Dinamo Zagreb)

Midfielders: Luka Modric (Captain/Real Madrid), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Lovro Majer (Rennes), Kristijan Jakic (Eintracht Frankfurt) , Luka Sucic (RB Salzburg)

Forwards: Ivan Perisic (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrej Kramaric (1899 Hoffenheim), Bruno Petkovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Mislav Orsic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split).

Coach: Zlatko Dalic has been the coach of the Croatian national team since 2017. He previously had experience coaching several local Croatian clubs and captained Al-Hilal. Dalic managed to take the Croatian national team to the 2018 World Cup final.

key player: Luka Modric is still a mainstay of the Croatian national team to this day. This could be Modric’s last competition with Croatia considering he is currently 37 years old.

The Real Madrid player is the player with the most caps for the Croatian national team (154).

Match schedule:
November 23 against Morocco
November 27 against Canada
December 1 against Belgium

CANADA

The best achievement of the World Cup: qualified for the group stage in 1986

Best achievement in other competitions: Winner of the Gold Cup in 1985 and 2000

FIFA Ranking: 41

Canada will play in their second World Cup final after securing first place in the Concacaf qualifying group.

Alphonso Davies cs took first place, ahead of second-placed Mexico on goal difference, to confirm their place in Qatar – ending a 36-year wait to appear in the final again.

Canada will be at the World Cup for the first time since 1986 in Mexico, where it lost all three games and failed to score.

Team: Canada has a young army. Half of Canadian players play in their own country, and several others play for clubs in MLS and Europe.

Goalkeepers: James Pantemis (CF Montreal), Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United).

Back: Samuel Adekugbe (Hatayspor), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Joel Waterman (CF Montreal), Alistair Johnston (CF Montreal), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC), Kamal Miller (CF Montreal), Steven Vitoria (Chaves), Derek Cornelius (Panetolikos).

Midfielders: Liam Fraser (Deinze), Ismael Kone (CF Montreal), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto FC), David Wotherspoon (St Johnstone), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas), Stephen Eustaquio (Porto ), Samuel Piette (FC Montreal).

Attackers: Tajon Buchanan (Club Bruges), Liam Millar (Basel), Lucas Cavallini (Vancouver Whitecaps), Ike Ugbo (Troyes), Junior Hoilett (Reading), Jonathan David (Lille), Cyle Larin (Club Bruges).

Coach: Currently, the Canadian national team has been managed by John Herdman since 2018. The British coach previously coached the women’s national teams of Canada and New Zealand for the past 16 years.

key player: Alphonso Davies managed to capture the attention of football fans thanks to his great performance with Bayern Munich. The 21-year-old presented various titles at the German club such as the Bundesliga, Champions League and Club World Cup titles.

Match schedule:
November 24 against Belgium
November 27 against Croatia
December 1 against Morocco

MOROCCO

Best World Cup: qualified for the last 16 in 1986

Best result in other competitions: African Cup of Nations champion in 1976

FIFA Ranking: 22

Entering the African qualifier in the second round, Morocco qualified with a 100% record.

Morocco have swept six matches, scoring 20 goals in the process and conceding only once. Moving on to the third round as group winners, Morocco met Congo in a home play-off in March with a place at Qatar 2022 on the line.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg. They successfully won 4-1 at home to secure a ticket to the 2022 World Cup.

Team: Morocco will rely on players based in Europe like Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss and Noussair Mazraoui. They can surprise in this group.

Goalkeepers: Bono (Sevilla), Munir El Kajoui (Al Waheda), Ahmed Tagnaouti (Wydad AC)

Defenders: Nayef Aguerd (West Ham), Yahia Attiyat Allah (Wydad AC), Badr Benoun (Qatar SC), Achraf Dari (Brest), Jawad El Yamiq (Valladolid), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern) Munich), Romain Saiss (Captain/Besiktas)

Midfielder: Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina), Selim Amallah (Standard Liège), Bilal El Khannous (Genk), Yahya Jabrane (Wydad AC), Azzedine Ounahi (Angers), Abdelhamid Sabiri (Sampdoria).

Attackers: Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse), Sofiane Boufal (Angers), Ilias Chair (Queen Park Rangers), Walid Cheddira (Bari), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla), Abde Ezzalzouli (Osasuna), Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Ittihad), Amine Harit, Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea).

Coach: The Moroccan Football Federation appointed Walid Regraui as coach in August 2022. Regraui started his coaching career as assistant coach of the Morocco national team in 2012, then coached FUS Rabat, Al-Duhail and the Wydad AC.

key player: Achraf Hakimi is the most famous player of the Moroccan national team of the moment. The 23-year-old defender has played for elite European clubs such as Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and now Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Morocco will also count on the creativity of Hakim Ziyech in this competition.

Match schedule:
November 23 against Croatia
November 27 against Morocco
December 1 against Canada

This news was published on Antaranews.com with the title: Profile and squad map of the four teams in Group F of the 2022 World Cup