Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium will play host to Thursday's FIFA World Cup game between Belgium and Canada. The game kicks off at 6:00 am with Belgium heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Belgium vs. Canada game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Thursday November 24, 2022 at 6:00 am

Where: Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

Belgium vs Canada Odds

Belgium vs Canada Preview

This Group F clash could tell us a lot about the future prospects of Belgium and Canada, with the two national teams seemingly on opposite trajectories.

Blessed with a squad packed with incredible quality, Belgium have been among the top five favourites for each of the past two World Cups and European Championships.

And while they reached at least the quarter-finals on each occasion and lost only to eventual finalists or winners in three of those tournaments, there is a sense of what could have been and a feeling within Belgium that the golden generation have missed their chance.

Stalwarts of their tournament near-misses are reaching the end of their careers, with defensive rocks Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, at 35 and 33 respectively, moving to the slower pace of the Belgium league for their club football. Midfield anchor Axel Witsel is 33 and creative geniuses Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard are both 31.

It is entirely possible that the starting team against Canada will feature as many as eight players over 30, with Hazard in particular seeming older than his years after a four-season stint at Real Madrid that has been blighted by injury.

If Belgium are the fading force in international football, Canada have strong claims to being the rising stars.

Until recently, not only had Canada qualified only once for the World Cup finals – in 1986, when they lost all three games without scoring – but they regularly failed to even reach the final round of qualification.

Les Rouges had also failed to go past the first knockout round of the poor-quality Concacaf Gold Cup in six consecutive attempts between 2009 and 2019, losing to Haiti, Jamaica and Honduras on the three occasions that they escaped the group.

But, suddenly, they exploded into life.

In the 2021 Gold Cup, Canada made it all the way to the semi-finals despite missing their two stand-out stars – and only a 99th-minute Mexican goal finally halted their unexpected run.

And not only did they reach the final stage of Concacaf World Cup qualification but they bossed it – topping the group after taking four points off regional heavyweights Mexico and USA, while trading victories with Costa Rica.

Incoming manager John Herdman has transformed the mindset of the Canadian squad and in youngsters Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David he has two genuine stars.

There is talent elsewhere, too. Attackers Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan, although not regular starters, are part of the Club Brugge squad that recently upset the odds to reach the knockout rounds of the Uefa Champions League – where midfielder Stephen Eustaquio will join them as a key part of the qualified Porto squad.

The Canadian talent is strongly weighted towards the front of the team, with Davies playing a more advanced role for his country than he does as Bayern Munich’s first-choice left-back and David a striker for French club Lille who has attracted the interest of a host of Champions League clubs.

But while Canada are on the up and Belgium on the way down, there is no crossover just yet – and with age comes experience, which often trumps youthful athleticism.

And the Belgians are far from done in any case. Players such as De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku have several years left in them and in the likes of Youri Tielemans and Leandro Trossard there are plenty of top-level performers who rarely get the limelight in such a star-studded squad.

While this match might have been tougher to call if recreated in 2026 on Canadian soil, for now the Belgians remain well clear in terms of quality and experience. But don’t rule out a few fireworks adding to the drama from an exciting emerging nation and David’s pace can unsettle a weary Belgian defence.

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