Canada to face Belgium, Croatia and Morocco in group stage at World Cup in Qatar
CBC
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.
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The draw took place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center with actor Idris Elba and broadcaster Reshmin Chowdhury as hosts.
The 32-team tournament runs Nov. 21 through Dec. 18. The teams are divided into eight groups of four for the opening stage. Each team plays the others in its group once, with the top two advancing to the knockout stage.
Canada clinched its first World Cup berth in 36 years with a 4-0 win over Jamaica on Sunday at BMO Field in Toronto, but they fell to Panama 1-0 on Wednesday in the final match of their qualifying campaign.
The Canadians finished atop the CONCACAF standings with an 8-2-4 record, but they dropped five places in Thursday's FIFA men's world rankings — falling from their record-high of No. 33.
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