Croatia and Morocco will head into the final matchday knowing that a win or draw will be enough to take them into the Round of 16 from Group F.
Both nations won their respective matches on Sunday after playing to a 0-0 draw to open group play.
Croatia occupy the top spot thanks to a lopsided win over Canada that allowed the 2018 World Cup runners-up to pad their stats in the goal differential and goals scored departments, which are the first and second tiebreakers used in case teams are level on points. Croatia’s superior goal differential (+3) has them ahead of Morocco (+2).
Morocco are the surprise of the group after holding Croatia to that 0-0 draw, and then defeating Belgium. A win or draw against already-eliminated Canada on the final day will see the Atlas Lions go through to the knockouts. They could even move on as the group winners if Croatia slip up, or if Morocco can beat Canada by a wide enough margin to overtake Croatia on the goal differential tiebreaker.
Everybody expected the two European heavyweights to go through in this group, and now it will come down to a head-to-head to see if both can somehow make it. It’s more likely that only one will.
Belgium need a win against Croatia, or a draw and a heavy loss suffered by Morocco in order to squeak through. After Kevin De Bruyne confessed that he thought Belgium had no chance to win the World Cup because the squad was too old, it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see them bow out in the group stage.
MORE: Who is Canada coach John Herdman?
World Cup Group F standings
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Croatia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| 2. Morocco | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 3. Belgium | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 4. Canada–E | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -4 |
- Q = Qualified to Round of 16
- E = Eliminated
World Cup Group F results and fixtures
| Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stadium |
| Wed, Nov. 23 | Morocco 0, Croatia 0 | HIGHLIGHTS | |
| Wed, Nov. 23 | Belgium 1, Canada 0 | HIGHLIGHTS | |
| Sun, Nov. 27 | Belgium 0, Morocco 2 | HIGHLIGHTS | |
| Sun, Nov. 27 | Croatia 4, Canada 1 | HIGHLIGHTS | |
| Thurs, Dec. 1 | Croatia vs. Belgium | 10 a.m. | Ahmad Bin Ali |
| Thurs, Dec. 1 | Canada vs. Morocco | 10 a.m. | Al Thumama |
World Cup 2022 group tiebreakers
FIFA have confirmed a continuation of their group-stage final standings and tiebreaking criteria for the 2022 World Cup, with the final positions ranked based on following the system below.
- Points obtained in all group matches
- Goal difference in all group matches
- Number of goals scored in all group matches
- Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question
- Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question
- Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question
- Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction can be applied to a player in a single match):
- 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;
- Drawing of lots.
World Cup 2022 Group F betting odds
The pre-tournament betting odds for Canada and other Group F sides in the major global territories are below (odds via BetMGM for U.S., Sky Bet for U.K., Sports Interaction for Canada and Ladbrokes for Australia).
Odds to win Group F:
| USA (BetMGM) |
Canada (Sports Interaction) |
UK (SkyBet) |
Australia (Ladbrokes) |
|
| Belgium | -175 | 1.67 | 8/1 | 1.73 |
| Croatia | +225 | 3.42 | 2/1 | 3.00 |
| Morocco | +900 | 11.00 | 8/1 | 9.00 |
| Canada | +1100 | 7.15 | 12/1 | 11.00 |
Odds to qualify to Round of 16:
| USA (BetMGM) |
Canada (Sports Interaction) |
UK (SkyBet) |
Australia (Ladbrokes) |
|
| Belgium | -700 | 1.10 | 1/6 | 1.17 |
| Croatia | -225 | 1.58 | 4/9 | 1.44 |
| Morocco | +200 | 3.06 | 9/4 | 3.00 |
| Canada | +250 | 3.19 | 3/1 | 3.25 |
Odds to win the World Cup:
| USA (BetMGM) |
Canada (Sports Interaction) |
UK (SkyBet) |
Australia (Ladbrokes) |
|
| Belgium | +1400 | 10.60 | 14/1 | 13.00 |
| Croatia | +4000 | 30.89 | 50/1 | 41.00 |
| Morocco | +25000 | 121 | 200/1 | 251 |
| Canada | +25000 | 124 | 500/1 | 251 |
Do 3rd place teams advance at World Cup 2022?
In short, no they do not.
The format of the 2022 FIFA World Cup does not account for third-place teams qualifying for the Round of 16.
Only the top two nations from each group go through to the knockout stages with first-place teams taking on group runners-up in the single elimination round.
The entire bracket is predetermined and is completed based on the finish in each group.
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