Belgium v Canada: possible line-ups and match information for the World Cup

Posted On: March 25, 2023

The core of the strong Belgian generation led by Roberto Martínez remains (Photo: JACK GUEZ / AFP )

Executioner of the Brazilian National Team at the last World Cup, Belgium made his World Cup debut in Qatar against Canada this Wednesday, starting at 4 pm (Brasília time), at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.

The Belgian team is looking to qualify as favorites to win an unprecedented cup with a strong start in the group stage. The core of the strong generation led by Roberto Martínez remains. Courtois, Vertonghen, Witsel, De Bruyne, Hazard and Lukaku remain in the starting lineup.

However, major stars have aged and are no longer playing at the peak of their careers. For example, in 2018, Eden Hazard came to the World Cup in Russia as a main player for Chelsea, England, and has scored 17 goals and provided 13 assists that season.

Currently, Hazard is not a starter for Real Madrid and suffers from many injuries, only playing in six games.

In addition to bad phase number 10, the Belgian coach will have another “headache”. Romelu Lukaku is injured and will miss the first two group games. In the last friendly match, in a 2-1 loss against Egypt, the Belgian team started with Batshuayi in charge of attack and young Openda entered the second half to leave the net.

On the other hand, Canada is returning to the World Cup after 36 years of trying to surprise them. The national team boasts a mix of experienced players such as Hoilett and Hutchinson, and a new generation of youngsters who are emerging in European football such as Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.

In the last friendly match in preparation for the World Cup, Canada faced Japan and won 2-1. Bayern Munich winger Alphonso Davies was sidelined through injury and did not play in the match. The absence of the fans is a cause for concern, but Canada coach John Herdman guaranteed the player’s presence on his debut against Belgium.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’re going to start with him. He’s been training well, he’s got his great pace back and he’s smiling again. He’s flying. We’ll field a strong team, we’ll be 100%. Storm clouds has passed,” said the coach.

Also in Group H, Croatia and Morocco face each other this Wednesday, starting at 7am (Brasília time), at the Al Bayt Stadium.

DATA SHEET

BELGIUM X CANADA

Local: Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan (QAT)

Date: November 23, 2022, Wednesday

Time: From 4 pm (from Brasilia)

Referee: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)

assistant: Jerson dos Santos (ZAM) and Arsenio Maringule (MOÇ)

VAR: Yoshimi Yamashita (JPN)

BELGIUM: Thibaut Courtois; Timothy Castagne, Zeno Debast, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Yannick Carrasco; Youri Tielemans, Axel Witsel; Kevin De Bruyne, Loïs Openda and Eden Hazard.

Technician: Roberto Martinez

CANADA: Milan Borjan; Alistair Johnston, Steven Victoria, Kamal Miller, Sam Adekugbe; Junior Hoilett, Atiba Hutchinson, Samuel Piette, Alphonso Davies; Jonathan David and Cyle Larin.

Technician: John Herdmann