(AFP) - Croatia, the runner-up in the last edition, and Belgium, the third, will start their campaign with a difficult test against Morocco and Canada, respectively, on Wednesday in the first round of Group Six competitions in the World Cup in Qatar .
The Croatian and Belgian teams blew up a heavy-caliber surprise in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, so they were just around the corner from the first title in its history, as the first lost the final match against France, which eliminated Belgium in the semi-finals.
Their participation in the Qatar World Cup will be with the ambition of repeating the achievement of 2018 at least, given their star-studded formations, for example, but not limited to the Spanish Real Madrid playmakers, the veteran Croatian Luka Modric (37 years), the English Manchester City and Belgium Kevin De Bruyne.
On paper, they appear to be strong candidates for grabbing the Sixth Group cards, and they will seek to confirm this starting from the two matches tomorrow, as well as the second round, when they exchange confrontations with Morocco and Canada, before they meet in the last third.
But the two European teams are well aware that the task will not be easy for two stubborn opponents who hope to pass the first round and confirm that their access to the finals was not a coincidence.
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 the European Brazilians finished in third place.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic warned his players not to underestimate the competitors, stressing that "there is no easy opponent, an easy group, this is the world championship (...) I trust my team (...) our goal is to qualify for the group."
"We must forget the past, and not fall into the trap of thinking about what happened four years ago," he added.
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.
The Paris Saint-Germain defender, currently in France, interacted with the results of the draw by publishing a tweet attached to a picture of him with Perisic and the Belgian Romelu Lukaku, commenting, "See you soon."

Moroccan national team coach Walid Rekragui stressed the need to focus on Wednesday's match, "because it is the most important. It is our first in the World Cup, and we must be at the top of our focus in order to achieve a good result that enhances our chances of passing the first round."
He added, "We will play in a complex and difficult group. We have a good team, morale is high, our players are good, and we hope to achieve something."
Morocco is playing the match with full ranks, except for the absence of Zakaria Abu Khallal (Toulouse) and Elias Shaer (Queens Park Rangers, England) due to injury.
The team doctor, Abdul Razzaq Hefti, confirmed 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.

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.
The Belgian national team players expressed their annoyance at the media's criticism in their country, especially Borussia Dortmund's German defender Thomas Meunier, who said, "I do not understand why we do not show more enthusiasm in Belgium" towards the Red Devils.
"You journalists are the main link between the national team and the public. So when you criticize and keep repeating that the World Cup will be difficult, it affects people," he said in a press conference on Monday.
Meunier showed his disappointment with the "negativity" of the Belgian press.
He continued, "When I sometimes read in the Dutch media that their country is going to go far in the competition, when, sorry, I think they have a great team and from here they are going to go far in this tournament..., I don't understand that we don't show more enthusiasm in Belgium." ".
And his colleague, Atletico Madrid midfielder Axel Witsel, spoke in a similar speech about the lack of enthusiasm among his compatriots on Sunday, and said: "All this negativity, this is a shame. People have the right to express their opinions, but I find that a shame in spite of everything."
He added, "In 2018, we made an exceptional journey (we reached the semi-finals), and we were all at the top individually and collectively. We want to do the same in Qatar. The future will tell us."

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.