Group F of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 23 November to 1 December 2022.[1] The group consisted of Belgium, Canada, Morocco and Croatia.[2] The top two teams, Morocco and Croatia, advanced to the round of 16, and later played against each other again in the third-place play-off game, with Croatia winning 2–1.[3][4] Morocco advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since 1986. By winning the group, they became the first African team to do so since Nigeria in 1998. Belgium failed to advance out of the group round for the first time, also since 1998.[5]
The teams had previously faced each other once, in a 1996 friendly match that ended in a 2–2 draw.
Although Croatia dominated possession, the match was one of few chances, and ended in a scoreless draw.[7]
The two sides would go on to face off again in the third place match, making this the second straight World Cup where the third place match was contested by two teams drawn in the same group (after Belgium and England did so in 2018).
The teams had faced each other once prior, a 1989 friendly won 2–0 by Belgium. This match made Canada's head coach, Englishman John Herdman, the first manager to coach a team at both the men's and women's FIFA World Cup.[9]
Despite dominating much of proceedings and having 19 attempts on goal, including an early penalty kick taken by Alphonso Davies that was saved by Thibaut Courtois, Canada could not find a way to score, and the sole goal of the match came near the end of the first half from Belgium's Michy Batshuayi, when he converted following a long-range pass upfield from defender Toby Alderweireld.[10]
Romain Saïss put Morocco in front in the 73rd minute, when he glanced the ball in at close range after a free kick whipped in from the left by Abdelhamid Sabiri deceived Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois at the near post.[12]Zakaria Aboukhlal made it 2–0 in added time when he finished high into the right corner of the net after a cut-back from Hakim Ziyech on the right.[13]
The match was only Morocco's third victory in World Cup history. The result sparked riots back in Belgium (home to a large ethnic Moroccan community), with resident fires and fireworks being set off.[14][15]
Alphonso Davies scored Canada's first-ever World Cup goal in the second minute, with his header off a cross from Tajon Buchanan on the right giving Canada the lead.[17] His effort was the fastest goal in the tournament at 68 seconds.[18]Andrej Kramarić and Marko Livaja would strike back before half-time for Croatia to put them into 2–1 lead. Kramarić would score again in the second period before Lovro Majer took advantage of a miscontrolled ball by Kamal Miller in the dying moments of the match to complete a 4–1 Croatian victory that sealed Canada's elimination from the tournament. It was also Canada's largest ever defeat in a World Cup match.[19]
The teams had previously faced each other eight times, most recently in 2021, a 1–0 win for Belgium in a friendly.
The first half finished goalless, with the most noticeable incident coming when Croatia was awarded a penalty following a foul by Yannick Carrasco on Andrej Kramarić, before being cancelled due to the VAR deeming Dejan Lovren marginally offside in the buildup to the call. Belgium, at this point needing a victory to avoid elimination, would bring on record goalscorer Romelu Lukaku for the second period, marking his return to action following a spell out due to injury. Lukaku missed several notable chances to score, including a strike that hit the inside of the post, as Belgium was unable to capitalize on their opportunities and succumbed to a 0–0 draw, confirming their group stage exit.[22]
The teams had previously faced each other three times, most recently in 2016, a friendly won 4–0 by Morocco.
Morocco took an early lead through Hakim Ziyech after a misplaced pass by Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan allowed him to score with a chip over the goalkeeper from outside the penalty area. They doubled their advantage in the 23rd minute with a goal from Youssef En-Nesyri when he ran on to a pass to score with a low finish to the right corner of the net from the right. In the final few minutes of the first half, Canada pulled a goal back when Nayef Aguerd diverted a low cross in from Sam Adekugbe on the left into his own net, marking the first own goal of the tournament as well as the first conceded by Morocco. Although Canada captain Atiba Hutchinson's header from a corner would strike the bar and the goal line in the second half, Morocco held on to win the match 2–1.[24]
Morocco thus finished top of Group F with seven points, reaching the knockout stage for a second time and a first since 1986. Canada, meanwhile, joined hosts Qatar as the only teams to exit the tournament without a single point, and remained winless in their World Cup history, adding on to the three defeats they suffered in 1986.
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if teams' overall and head-to-head records were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:[2]
first yellow card: −1 point;
indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
direct red card: −4 points;
yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
