FIFA World Cup Key Players: Group F
Who are the key players at the 2022 FIFA World Cup? Top World Football looks at the top three star players on each team in Group F at the World Cup.
Belgium
FIFA World Ranking: 2
Key players in the FIFA World Cup for Belgium:
Kevin De Bruyne age 31, is arguably Belgium’s greatest-ever player. The midfielder has had an amazing run in the Premier League since joining Manchester City in 2015. Many would say De Bruyne has been the Premier League’s best player over the past several years. He’s a huge reason why Manchester City has won four of the last five Premier League titles. This will be De Bruyne’s third consecutive World Cup, having guided Belgium to a third-place finish in 2018. In 93 matches for Belgium, De Bruyne has 25 goals. De Bruyne was named to the Top World Football end-of-season all-star team.
Romelu Lukaku is Belgium’s all-time leading goal scorer with 68 goals in 102 games. Lukaku has played at the highest level for Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premier League. The 29-year-old striker led Inter Milan to the Italian championship trophy in 2021. After a brief stint back at Chelsea, Lukaku has since been loaned back to Inter. However, he’s spent the last couple of months recovering from injury and hasn’t played since August. He should be ready towards the end of October which should give him time to regain form for the World Cup. This will be Lukaku’s third World Cup.
Thibaut Courtois just won the Yashin trophy as the world’s best goalkeeper in 2022. Courtois was the man of the match in the UEFA Champions League Final win for Real Madrid in May. It was one of the greatest goalkeeping performances of all time. Courtois has won three La Liga titles in Spain with Atletico Madrid and most recently with Real Madrid. Courtois won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2015 and 2017. Winning silverware for Belgium is about the only thing Courtois hasn’t accomplished. As Belgium’s golden generation is nearing their best before date, this could be their last best chance at winning the World Cup.
Croatia
FIFA World Ranking: 12
Key players in the FIFA World Cup for Croatia:
Luka Modric is still playing at the highest level of world football at age 37. A staple of Real Madrid’s midfield for the last decade, Modric has won five Champions League trophies in his time with the club. Modric has played 154 matches for Croatia with 23 goals and is the captain of the team. His first World Cup for Croatia was in 2006. In 2018 Modric led Croatia to the World Cup final, which helped secure him the Ballon d’Or trophy at the end of that year. Many believe Modric to be Croatia’s greatest footballer of all time, and this should be his last World Cup.
Mateo Kovacic age 28, will represent Croatia in his third World Cup. According to Transfermarkt, Kovacic has scored three times in 83 matches for Croatia. Kovacic has played for some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Inter Milan, Real Madrid and now Chelsea. A four-time UEFA Champions League winner, Kovacic has collected a lot of silverware playing for the world’s top clubs. He should play a more important role for Croatia this year than he did at previous World Cups.
Marcelo Brozovic is the final piece of Croatia’s lethal midfield trio. Turning 30 in November, Brozovic will play in his third World Cup. Brozovic was injured in Croatia’s last Nations League game against Austria on Sept 25. However, he should return to action for Inter Milan just before the World Cup break. Brozovic won Italy’s Serie A in 2021 and the Copa Italia in 2022 with Inter Milan. In 76 matches for Croatia Brozovic has scored seven goals.
Morocco
FIFA World Ranking: 22
Key players in the FIFA World Cup for Morocco:
Ashraf Hakimi is considered one of the world’s best right-backs. Hakimi played a big part in helping Paris Saint Germain win the French Ligue 1 championship last season. Prior to that, he starred on the Italian Serie A championship-winning Inter Milan squad. Hakimi is the most valuable member of the Moroccan team and will be playing in his second World Cup. For the last two years, Hakimi has been voted the Moroccan footballer of the year. In 51 games for Morocco, Hakimi has scored eight goals.
Hakim Ziyech has recently rejoined the Moroccan team for his second World Cup appearance. Ziyech typically plays on the right wing or as an attacking midfielder. Playing with Chelsea since 2020, Ziyech won the Champions League in his first season with the London club. Before joining, Chelsea Ziyech starred with Ajax in Amsterdam, winning several trophies with the Dutch club. In 40 games for Morroco Ziyech has scored 17 times.
Yassine Bounou has been with the Morrocan national team for nearly a decade. The 31-year-old goalkeeper dressed with the team for the last World Cup but didn’t see any playing time. Bounou or ‘Bono’ has played in 44 matches for the national team. Bono is the goalkeeper of choice with his club side Sevilla in Spain’s La Liga. He helped Sevilla win the Europa League in 2020 with a win over Inter Milan in the final.
Canada
FIFA World Ranking: 41
Key players in the FIFA World Cup for Canada:
Alphonso Davies is Canada’s greatest soccer player of all time. Although he’s just turned 22 years old, Davies has already won a lifetime’s worth of achievements. Having joined Bayern Munich when turning 18, Davies has won four Bundesliga titles and the UEFA Champions League. Davies has played on the Canadian senior squad for over five years, and in 32 matches has 12 goals. In 2020, Davies was named to the FIFPro World11 as a left-back. However, Canada uses Davies more in an attacking role.
Jonathan David age 22 has already scored 20 goals in 30 games for Canada. David likely will be Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at some point. Since joining Lille in 2020, David has been near the top of the Ligue 1 goal-scoring stats in France. In 2021 David won the French Ligue 1 championship with Lille and has since become their main talisman. If David performs well at the World Cup, some of the biggest clubs in the world will come knocking at his door.
Stephen Eustaquio joined FC Porto at the start of the year and has steadily increased his workload for the Portuguese champions. In September, Eustaquio was named the Liga Portugal player of the month. The 25-year-old typically plays as a central defensive midfielder. Working his way onto the Canadian squad over the last couple of years, Eustaquio is now one of the most valuable members of the team. Eustaquio is in his first season of the UEFA Champions League for Porto, helping them win their group. This gives him valuable experience playing at the highest level of World football, just in time for the World Cup.
