Canada had their official World Cup campaign end Sunday with a 4-1 loss to Croatia  . Canada now travels to Al Thumama Stadium for a contest with the Atlas Lions who are riding the high after producing a 2-0 victory over Belgium.

Canada started their World Cup campaign last Wednesday,suffering a 1-0 loss to Belgium. . But after the defeat last week and the loss over the weekend to Croatia, midfielder Atiba Hutchinson remains hopeful that the team can show up to ruin Morocco’s chances.

“We want to finish on a good note. We haven’t had any points on the board in a World Cup. So, we want to finish with three points and kind of hold our heads up after,” Hutchinson said after making his 100^th appearance for the country on Sunday.

Canada made history Sunday when Alphonso Davies scored Canada’s first goal ever at a World Cup. Now Les Rouges want to continue making history by earning their first ever point(s) at a World Cup.

“We need everyone to stand behind us. We’re still trying to break new history. We scored our first ever goal which was a really special moment. Now, we’re still looking for that first result,” defender Alistair Johnston told the media after training on Monday.

Canada will aim to play freely on Thursday but still manage to be professional to continue their growth on the world stage. Stephen Eustaquio remains questionable for the game, though, as he suffered a minor injury during the game against Croatia and signalled to come off, sequentially, coming off at halftime. However, with Canada’s depth in midfield, don’t be surprised to see the FC Porto midfielder sit out in the final game of the World Cup.

Because it is a quick turnaround of games and several players have yet to see some action in the World Cup, expect to see minor rotation in the Starting XI, with probable deserved starts from both Jonathan Osorio and Ismaël Koné in the midfield.

Canada could easily lean on attacks from Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David along with quick tempo passes from the midfield pairing Herdman decides to go with. Every player should more or less be available at Herdman’s disposal Thursday, along with Davies quickly returning to form once again after a faultless performance from the Bayern left-back over the weekend, scoring Canada’s first ever goal at a World Cup.

“We came to the World Cup to make history and that’s what we’re trying to do. We want something out of it. We’re not gonna make it easy, we’re gonna go out there like it’s the first game of the tournament and play as hard and as possible,” Davies told reporters on the upcoming fixture during a media conference Tuesday.

We’ve seen with John Herdman’s setup during qualifications to adapt to new structures and formations, usually rotating between a 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2. Playing with three central defenders and quick wing-backs is likely the preferred approach against Morocco, though, as it allows Canada to take advantage of its intense pace down the wings. Davies’ positioning will be interesting, too, as he can stay out wide or float into central areas if Herdman decides to play with two strikers in Jonathan David and all-time leading scorer Cyle Larin.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com