The World Cup is now in full swing, and the nations of Canada, the United States and Mexico are all deep in World Cup fever. After a difficult first game that resulted in Canada drawing 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Maple Leafs exploded into life in their second game of the tournament, beating Qatar 6-0 and landing firmly on the top spot of Group B.
This puts Canada in the driving seat for Group B, and gives them excellent odds to make it into the knockout stages, and perhaps even further. How far can they actually go?
Canada thrashed Qatar 6-0 on Thursday evening at BC Place in Vancouver, securing the co-hosts’ first ever win at a men’s World Cup in emphatic fashion.
Jonathan David was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick to take his tournament tally to four goals. Cyle Larin and Nathan Saliba also got on the scoresheet, with an Al Manai own goal rounding off a nightmare night for the Maroons, who finished the match with nine men after red cards for Homam Al Amin and Assim Madibo.
The only dampener on the mood in Vancouver was the serious injury to Ismail Kone, who ended up being stretchered off. Despite that loss, the mood in Canada was high, as Canada took control of their Group, making them favorites to make it out of Group B with most sportsbooks. If you check out GOAL, you can find a code promo 1xbet for betting in Ottawa and across Canada.
Due to the format of this year’s World Cup, where the top two teams of the group progress through to the knockout stage plus 8 of the 12 third place finishers from across the groups, it’s now almost a certainty that Canada will get through to the knockout stages of this World Cup.
Canada have one game remaining in the group stage against Switzerland, and even a draw would guarantee that Canada finish at the top of Group B. Losing against Switzerland would mean they would drop to 2nd place, and in a very specific and unlikely scenario concerning goal difference, they would drop to third, but even then it’s highly likely they’ll make it to the round of 32, the first stage of the knockout stage.
Who will Canada play in the World Cup Round of 32?
As it currently stands, it looks likely that Canada will be going through to the next round no matter what. With the convoluted system of third-placed teams, it’s difficult to exactly predict who Canada will play in the round of 32 if they top the group, but the game would be on July 1st and be played once again in Vancouver.
If Canada lose to Switzerland and end up in 2nd place in the group, they will play the 2nd placed team in Group A, which after their loss to Mexico, seems to almost certainly be South Korea, a game which would be played in LA on June 28th. A tough draw for the round of 32, but Canada will have to beat good teams if they want to progress.
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