Canada's World Cup group is no easy task, but draw could have been worse

Pretty tough, but it could have been worse. 

That seems to be the general consensus among Canadian soccer fans and pundits following Friday's official draw in Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup that placed Canada in Group F alongside Belgium, Croatia and Morocco. 

Roughly an hour after the draw was completed, Canadian coach John Herdman was all smiles when speaking to reporters via Zoom in Toronto, calling it a "surreal moment" when his team was finally picked last of the 32 nations that will compete in Qatar.

"I don't know how many years people probably in this country had to endure a [World Cup] draw and be ready to support their secondary team," Herdman said. "To have our team pulled out [of a pot] and just to see that this is real, Canada is on the big stage now.

"And we're not just heading to Qatar. We're ready to play in Qatar and where we know the teams we've got. We have a wonderful opportunity ahead of us."

Canada, No. 38 in the current FIFA world rankings, will kick off its World Cup campaign in Qatar against second-ranked Belgium on Nov. 23 before facing No. 16 Croatia on Nov. 27. The Canadians will close out Group F play on Dec. 1 versus Morocco (No. 24). The top two nations in the round-robin group advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup. 

If the Canadians do manage to get out of the group, more daunting challenges await them in the knockout stages. Group E crosses over with Group F, which means a potential second-round match for Canada vs. either Germany or Spain, who between them have won five World Cups.

It also doesn't help matters that Canada will not be able to ease its way into competition in Qatar, with its opening two games coming against group favourites Belgium and Croatia. By the time