Canada will play Belgium on Wednesday at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in their first World Cup game in 36 years.

Belgium

At the World Cup in Russia, Belgium defeated England 2-0 in the battle for third place. In spite of only conceding one goal in their previous four games, they were defeated 1-2 by Italy in the 2020 European Championship quarterfinal. The Belgians finished second in the most recent UEFA Nations League season and easily won their World Cup qualification group, defeating Wales and the Czech Republic (six points behind the Netherlands in Group 4).

Canada

Canada outperformed Mexico and the United States in the CONCACAF region's last round of qualification because they scored the most goals and conceded the fewest. Both their latest CONCACAF Nations League encounter, which they lost on the road in Honduras, and their road record in qualifying, where they only won two of seven games, raise questions about their performance on the road.

Prediction

Although Davies will be sorely missed, Canada has recently improved their defensive foundations and has goals, which could occasionally irritate Belgium. The talent level of Belgium should be sufficient to overcome a young Canadian team.


Pick: Belgium win

Total: Over 2.5 Goals