Morocco face Canada in a World Cup Group F match on Thursday at the Al Thumama Stadium, and a win might see them advance out of the group stage. In spite of Canada's elimination, this match might have major ramifications for the African team.
The outcome of Group F's last day of matches is still very unpredictable. It's not too complicated for Morocco, however, since a victory or a draw would guarantee advancement regardless of the outcome of the other group games.
Things get much more tricky, though, if they lose, as they would then need either Croatia to lose by at least two goals more than they do or Belgium to lose in order to advance. With a loss of four goals or more, the Atlas Lions would be eliminated from the tournament regardless of the outcome of the other group games.
Why is Canada's Jonathan David starting on the bench against Morocco?
The Canadian men's national team's World Cup run concludes on Thursday after a hectic week. Nothing of the highest significance is at risk. The 4-1 loss to Croatia on Sunday ended whatever chance the Reds had of progressing.
It's safe to say that it wasn't Jonathan David's finest game of the year. The Lille forward was not very helpful even when his team was ahead early on. He didn't take any shots and gave the ball away almost as often as he retained it. The 22-year-old not play like a real center forward versus the Checkered Ones, as he was unable to open up the play for himself or his teammates.
However, even after helping his teammates make history by scoring the first goal in a men's World Cup, there is always room to make even more milestones. The team's credibility would be greatly boosted if they could finally pull off their first win.
As a result, it seems odd that Jonathan David wasn't given the nod to start the game. Though he hasn't had a great showing in either of Canada's last two games, David has shown glimpses of why he should be his country's starting no. 9 for the future World Cups. Instead, coach John Herdman has opted to start Cyle Larin, who is Canada’s top goalscorer with 25 goals to his name so far.
