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Germany are in danger of failing to make it out of the group stages for the second
World Cup in a row, while Morocco set their sights on winning Group F.
Both Groups E and F are far from being done and dusted, although Canada have already been eliminated with one game remaining in the group stages.
Croatia and Belgium are separated by just one point ahead of their clash at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan on Thursday.
The Vatreni lead Group F on four points after a 0-0 draw with Morocco followed by their 4-1 victory over Canada on Sunday.
The Red Devils are third in the group, having suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Morocco most recently after opening their campaign with a 1-0 win over the Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, Morocco take on Canada at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha with an eye on finishing in top spot.
The Atlas Lions became the first African team to win a World Cup group in 1986 before bowing out in the last 16.
Walid Regragui's side are in a strong position to repeat that feat following their surprise victory over Belgium thanks in part to a starring performance from Hakim Ziyech.
The Chelsea winger constantly tormented the Belgian defence and set up Zakaria Aboukhlal's goal late on to seal the 2-0 win.
Regragui sang Ziyech's praises after the match, dismissing suggestions that he is difficult to work with in the national team.
"He is incredible. The spirit he has, coming back to the national team,” the Morocco head coach said. "A lot of people talk about him, say he is crazy and difficult to manage, that he can't help the team.
"But when you give him the love and confidence, he will die for you. He is a key player and a different player with the national team."
Group E is delicately poised after Costa Rica beat Japan 1-0 on Sunday, while Spain and Germany shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
La Furia Roja face the Samurai Blue at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan determined to avoid another upset.
Hajime Moriyasu's side pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament when they came from behind to edge Germany 2-1 in their opening match.
The Spanish kicked off their campaign in fine fashion with a 7-0 drubbing of Costa Rica and they lead the group on four points, one ahead of Japan.
Luis Enrique admitted there was a feeling of disappointment in the camp after the stalemate with Germany due to some missed opportunities but he's looking to remedy that on Thursday.
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"There was a strange feeling in the changing room because we had the opportunity to beat Germany and we let it slip through our hands and that was a shame," Enrique said.
"But we have to think that we are at the top of the so-called Group of Death and we have to stay positive. A draw against Japan on Thursday would probably send us through to knockouts but we will not speculate. We will use our full strength and go for the win to secure the top in the group standings."
Germany go into their clash with Costa Rica at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor knowing that anything less than victory will mean another early exit from the tournament.
Die Mannschaft have only collected one point from their opening two games to bring up the rear in Group E and head coach Hansi Flick believes the performance against Spain could be the catalyst for turning around his team's fortunes in Qatar.
"Things come to you when you start winning. Maybe it is the spark we need," Flick said. "The team fought hard and I am very satisfied with their mentality. These are the things we want and we know that we did take the first step.
"We want to have the conditions against Costa Rica to reach the knockout phase. Costa Rica showed good mentality to come back from a 7-0 loss to Spain [and beat Japan]. Football is like that. Sometimes it's not those with the most chances that win. We experienced that against Japan."
A draw won't be enough for Los Ticos to progress from the group as they have a vastly inferior goal difference to Japan, who are tied with them on three points.
Luis Fernando Suarez's side did well to bounce back from their heavy loss to Spain but a wounded Germany will pose an entirely different challenge to the Samurai Blue, who held out for 81 minutes before Keysher Fuller scored the winning goal.
World Cup fixtures - Thursday, December 1
17h00: Croatia v Belgium
17h00: Canada v Morocco
21h00: Japan v Spain
21h00: Costa Rica v Germany
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