The first Moroccan national football team begins its campaign in the Qatar World Cup with a difficult test against Croatia, the runner-up of the last edition, in the first round of Group Six competitions, while the Belgian national team collides with its Canadian counterpart, on Wednesday, in the same group.
Morocco will play the match with full ranks, except for the absence of Zakaria Abu Khalil and Elias Shaer due to injury.
Abdul Razzaq Hefti will be that Abu Khallal will be ready to play the second match, while a decision will be taken regarding Shaer later, and Salim Amlah (Belgian Standard Liege) recovered from a minor injury.
Morocco coach Walid Rekragui said that his country is excited about Saudi Arabia’s victory against Argentina, the favorites to win the World Cup, as he called on his team to achieve a similar achievement when they meet Croatia in the first match of Group F on Wednesday.
It will be the first official confrontation between Morocco and Croatia, and the second in the history of their confrontation after the first in the Hassan II International Tournament in 1998, in preparation for the French World Cup, which was finished by Brazilians in Europe in third place.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic warned his players against underestimating the competitors, stressing that there is no easy opponent, an easy group, in the World Championship, expressing his confidence in the Croatian team.
He said, “We must forget the past, and not fall into the trap of thinking about what happened four years ago.”
Croatia is counting on its leader, Modric, the best player in the world in 2018, who will compete in the last world wedding in his professional career, along with other veterans, Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic and Tottenham winger Ivan Perisic, and the latter two will face their former colleague in the Italian club, Ashraf Hakimi.
In a second match, Belgium begins its campaign with a test that is not without difficulty against Canada, especially since its striker and Inter Milan, Romelu Lukaku, will be absent from its ranks, at least in its first two matches, due to injury.
And the Spanish coach of Belgium, Roberto Martinez, decided to call the best scorer in the history of the national team (68 goals in 102 games), to the final squad, despite the injury he suffers from in the posterior muscle of his left thigh.
Belgium ended its preparations for the Qatar World Cup with an alarming loss to Egypt 1-2 on Friday at Jaber Al-Ahmad Stadium in Kuwait in an international friendly match.
On the other hand, English coach John Herdman hopes to lead Canada to achieve a surprise and qualify for the playoffs, before hosting the 2026 finals with the participation of the United States and Mexico.
Herdman (47 years) succeeded in leading Canada, the leaders of the CONCACAF qualifiers, to the World Cup for the first time since 1986 by spreading the spirit of brotherhood among the players, combining talent and experience and restoring hope to an entire country. 
