Matches in Group F of the2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 23 November to 1 December 2022.[1] The group consisted ofBelgium,Canada,Morocco andCroatia.[2] The top two teams, Morocco and Croatia, advanced to theround of 16, and later played against each other again in thethird-place play-off game, with Croatia winning 2–1.[3][4] Morocco advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since1986. By winning the group, they became the first African team to do so sinceNigeria in1998. Belgium failed to advance out of the group round for the first time, also since1998.[5]
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Rankings[6] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2022[nb 1] | October 2022 | |||||||||
| F1 |  Belgium | 1 | UEFA | UEFA Group E winners | 13 November 2021 | 14th | 2018 | Third place (2018) | 2 | 2 |
| F2 |  Canada | 4 | CONCACAF | CONCACAF third round winners | 27 March 2022 | 2nd | 1986 | Group stage (1986) | 38 | 41 |
| F3 |  Morocco | 3 | CAF | CAF third round winners | 29 March 2022 | 6th | 2018 | Round of 16 (1986) | 24 | 22 |
| F4 |  Croatia | 2 | UEFA | UEFA Group H winners | 14 November 2021 | 6th | 2018 | Runners-up (2018) | 16 | 12 |
Notes
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advanced toknockout stage |
| 2 | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Canada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
In theround of 16:
All times listed are local,AST (UTC+3).[1]
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 thethird place match, making this the second straight World Cup where the third place match was contested by two teams drawn in the same group (afterBelgium andEngland did so in2018).
          Morocco |     Croatia |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had faced each other once prior, a 1989 friendly won 2–0 by Belgium. This match made Canada's head coach, EnglishmanJohn Herdman, the first manager to coach a team at both the men's andwomen's FIFA World Cup.[9]
Despite dominating much of proceedings and having 19 attempts on goal, including an early penalty kick taken byAlphonso Davies that was saved byThibaut 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'sMichy Batshuayi, when he converted following a long-range pass upfield from defenderToby Alderweireld.[10]
     Belgium |    Canada |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had met in three previous matches, including Belgium's1–0 group stage victory at the1994 FIFA World Cup.
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 byAbdelhamid Sabiri deceived Belgian goalkeeperThibaut 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 fromHakim 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 largeethnic Moroccan community), with resident fires and fireworks being set off.[14][15]
Belgium |      Morocco |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
The teams had never met before.
Alphonso Davies scored Canada's first-ever World Cup goal in the second minute, with his header off a cross fromTajon Buchanan on the right giving Canada the lead.[17] His effort was the fastest goal in the tournament at 68 seconds.[18]Andrej Kramarić andMarko Livaja would strike back before half-time for Croatia to put them into 2–1 lead. Kramarić would score again in the second period beforeLovro Majer took advantage of a miscontrolled ball byKamal 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 match was marred by xenophobicanti-Serb chants made by a group Croatian fans against Canadian goalkeeperMilan Borjan, an ethnicCroatian Serb who fled Croatia during theCroatian War of Independence, along with their display of a modifiedJohn Deere banner making a reference toOperation Storm, a military operation that ended the war and abolished theseparatistproto-stateRepublic of Serbian Krajina, which resulted in amass exodus andwar crimes against number of Krajina's Serb civilians.[20]
Croatia |   Canada |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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 byYannick Carrasco onAndrej Kramarić, before being cancelled due to theVAR deemingDejan Lovren marginally offside in the buildup to the call. Belgium, needing a victory to avoid elimination unless Canada defeated Morocco by four goals in the concurrent match played, would bring on record goalscorerRomelu 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, eliminating them after Morocco defeated Canada 2–1.[22]
Croatia | Belgium |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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 throughHakim Ziyech after a misplaced pass by Canada goalkeeperMilan 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 fromYoussef 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 whenNayef Aguerd diverted a low cross in fromSam 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 captainAtiba 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 since1986. Canada, meanwhile, joined hostsQatar 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 in1986.
   Canada | Morocco |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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]
Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Points | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | ||
| Croatia | 2 | −2 | |||||||||||
| Morocco | 1 | 1 | −2 | ||||||||||
| Belgium | 3 | 1 | 1 | −5 | |||||||||
| Canada | 2 | 2 | 4 | −8 | |||||||||
