{"id":1656,"date":"2022-11-23T16:22:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-23T16:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2022-11-23T17:06:12","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T17:06:12","slug":"2022-11-23-world-cup-group-f-pre-bel-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/2022-11-23-world-cup-group-f-pre-bel-can","title":{"rendered":"Group F: Belgium Battle Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The 2022 FIFA World Cup continues to produce captivating football and the main event on Wednesday is expected to live up to the billing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we near the completion of the opening round of World Cup group matches, Belgium are set to take on Canada in Group F. Victory for either side would see them climb to the top of the group after Croatia and Morocco played out a closely-fought goalless stalemate earlier on Wednesday at the Al Bayt Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belgium are the overwhelming favourites in this particular tie, especially when considering their previous experience on the world stage as well as the several big names at their disposal. Having said that, these are the same &#8216;big names&#8217; that starred when Belgium broke onto the international scene almost a decade ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Belgium begin their World Cup campaign today.<br><br>? World Cup 2014: Quarter-finals<br>? Euro 2016: Quarter-finals<br>? World Cup 2018: Third Place<br>? Euro 2020: Quarter-finals<br><br>Have they wasted their golden generation? ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UStVk6YoHy\">pic.twitter.com\/UStVk6YoHy<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ladbrokes\/status\/1595350190721929217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 23, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>At the 2014 World Cup, it seemed the sky was the limit for this &#8216;golden generation&#8217; spearheaded by Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Eden Hazard \u2013 all 23 or younger at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Four major tournaments later and the aforementioned trio is still the face of the Red Devils&#8217; attack and there is a concerning lack of younger players rising through the ranks. Not only has this Belgium side massively underachieved, they are also devoid of a clear-cut succession plan beyond this group of talented (and ageing) individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazard and De Bruyne are already 31 while Lukaku turns 30 next year, meaning Qatar 2022 may prove a last hurrah for all three of them at the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the 26 players called up by Roberto Mart\u00ednez, Lukaku and Hazard are two of six players with 100+ international caps. Dries Mertens (35), Jan Vertonghen (35), Toby Alderweireld (33), and Axel Witsel (33) are all centurions for their country, though neither one of them are players they once were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The golden generation ?\u2728<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BelRedDevils?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BelRedDevils<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FIFAWorldCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FIFAWorldCup<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vmdnwoA4CR\">pic.twitter.com\/vmdnwoA4CR<\/a><\/p>\u2014 FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FIFAWorldCup\/status\/1594231570252046338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 20, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Seven of the 26 currently ply their trade in the Premier League, with four in the Spanish top flight. Five of them are in the local Pro League (including Alderweireld, Vertonghen, and Simon Mignolet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leicester City, in particular, have a handful of Belgian Red Devils with Youri Tielemans, Timothy Castagne, and Wout Faes all sharing a dressing room at the King Power Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While there are some younger players \u2013 Jeremy Doku, Charles De Ketaleare, and Amadou Onana \u2013 knocking on the door, it is difficult to see Mart\u00ednez reverting from his trusted servants in favour of junior squad members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year Belgium lost to Italy in the Euro quarter-finals before going down to France in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals, and again to Italy in the UNL third place play-off, of which Vertonghen and Alderweireld started as part of a back three in all three games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mart\u00ednez prepares to take charge at a second World Cup and third tournament overall, but an underachievement in Qatar may see the Spaniard relieved of his duties by the Royal Belgian FA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Ck-hJ_FsE1Z\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Ck-hJ_FsE1Z\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Ck-hJ_FsE1Z\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Belgian Red Devils (@belgianreddevils)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>For Canada, this will be a first contest at the World Cup finals for 36 years and just their second overall. In 1986, their only other appearance at the tournament, the Canadians crashed out of the groups in a hugely disappointing manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Maple Leafs took three defeats out of three and exited the tournament without scoring a goal. Needless to say, a goal tonight for the North Americans would be both historic and euphoric. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like every one of his teammates, Atiba Hutchinson is braced for a World Cup debut. However, one difference being the Canadian captain is within three months of his 40th birthday and he is most-capped Canada international of all-time, with 98 outings for his national team. Two more appearances would make the Ontario-born midfielder the first centurion in Canada colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Belgium squad is the joint-oldest at Qatar 2022, Canada have the sixth-youngest squad with an average age of 25,5 years. The Maple Leafs&#8217; younger group is headlined by Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, both well-recognised in European football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">13,316 &#8211; Today, Canada will play its first World Cup match since June 9, 1986, ending a 13,316 day wait. Return. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LygnBZTvVs\">pic.twitter.com\/LygnBZTvVs<\/a><\/p>\u2014 OptaJack\u26bd\ufe0f (@OptaJack) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OptaJack\/status\/1595408789355872257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 23, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>No doubt the blistering pace of Davies, 22, will cause problems for their opponents, especially if Belgium manager Mart\u00ednez fields the archaic pair of Alderweireld and Vertonghen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David, meanwhile, represents his team&#8217;s threat in front of goal. The 22-year-old has scored nine times in 15 matches for Lille in Ligue 1 this season. He has also notched 22 goals in 35 appearances for Canada. David bagged nine goals in World Cup qualifying; only teammate Cyle Larin scored more (13) in CONCACAF qualifiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canada won three, drew two, and lost one of six games against the three other North and Central American nations to have qualified for Qatar 2022 (Costa Rica, Mexico, and USA).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Alphonso-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1658\" width=\"250\" height=\"330\"\/><figcaption><em>Alphonso Davies is quicker than most.<br>(Photo: Getty Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, the Belgians are the pre-match favourites in this tie and the FIFA rankings would strongly back that up. Belgium are ranked 2nd in the world, with Canada down in 41st. The two nations prepare to lock horns at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, with kick-off at 22H00 local time (20H00 CET).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belgium are <strong><em>1.55<\/em><\/strong> to pick up victory in their World Cup opener; Canada are <em><strong>6.00<\/strong><\/em> to pull off an upset; <em><strong>4.20<\/strong><\/em> for a draw. Kevin De Bruyne is <em><strong>3.00<\/strong><\/em> to score anytime. (<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bet365.com\/#\/AC\/B1\/C1\/D8\/E117346489\/F3\/\">Bet365<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2022 FIFA World Cup continues to produce captivating football and the main event on Wednesday is expected to live up to the billing. As we near the completion of the opening round of World Cup group matches, Belgium are set to take on Canada in Group F. Victory for either side would see them &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,893],"tags":[690,894,162,214,285,108],"class_list":["post-1656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-world-cup","tag-belgium","tag-eden-hazard","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-kevin-de-bruyne","tag-romelu-lukaku","tag-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}