Canada draws Belgium, Croatia and Morocco in World Cup Group F

(From The Canadian Press) Canada will face Belgium, Morocco and Croatia in Group F in the opening group stage of the World Cup in Qatar this November.

The Canadian men are ranked 38th in the world compared to No. 2 for Belgium, No. 16 for Croatia and No, 24 Morocco.

Canada was the last ball taken in the draw.

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.

Confederation: UEFAFIFA ranking: 1Team nickname: The Red DevilsPrevious World Cup appearances: 13Honours: None.Head coach: Roberto MartinezStar players: Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)

Ranked number one in the world since September 2018, Belgium finished third in Russia following a narrow 1-0 defeat to France in the semi-final. Tournament favourites at Euro 2020, defeat to eventual winners Italy in the quarter-final has left many to wonder if the 2022 World Cup is the last opportunity for this ‘golden generation’.

All-time leading scorer Romelu Lukaku has endured a difficult time in the Premier League with Chelsea this season (five goals in 19 appearances) but continues to score on a regular basis for the national side – his tally now stands at 68 goals from 101 appearances. However, he failed to score in any of the 4 post-group stage matches at the 2018 finals.

Head coach Roberto Martinez’s contract ends after the World Cup and with regular links to a return to managing