Group F – Theo

Belgium , Canada, Croatia , Morocco

All four teams in Group F possess impressive talent, making it the toughest group to predict. Croatia is coming off a loss in the final of the 2018 World Cup and will have the benefit of experience, as many of their core players from their 2018 run return this year. Croatia sports one of the strongest midfield groups in the tournament, with Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic. They have the potential to win this group over a Belgian team that time and time again has failed to capitalize on their talent. It is beginning to feel that Belgium’s “Golden Generation” is waning. Core players like Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku are much older and not the star players they used to be. Belgium still have the best midfielder in the world in Kevin DeBruyne, who will no doubt carry this team to the best of his ability, but there is no denying that Belgium is not the squad they once were. While I think they will still sneak into second place in the group, they could easily slip to third or even fourth place if they are not careful. Canada is back on the big stage for the first time since 1986, and they will be led by young stars Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. Canada will be a fun team to root for, but their lack of depth beyond Davies and David could limit how far they go. Morocco, on the other hand, is down on their luck, having been drawn into what is most likely the “group of death.” They went undefeated in qualifying for the World Cup and are easily one of the best African teams in the tournament. Morocco has plenty of talent, with playmaking wizard Hakim Ziyech — who will play despite his recent fall out with manager Walid Regruagui — striker Youssef En-Neysiri and speedy right back Achraf Hakimi. Both Morocco and Canada possess the talent to potentially knock one of the big teams out of the tournament.