After losing to Croatia 0-0 in their final group game at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Belgium has now been eliminated from the World Cup.
BELGIUM HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT OF THE WORLD CUP IN THE GROUP STAGE 😱 pic.twitter.com/Gm85h5gkb8
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 1, 2022
Substitute Romelu Lukaku hit the post for Belgium in the second half, but they required a victory to advance.
Meanwhile, Croatia, who finished second in Group F behind winners Morocco, needed only a point to advance.
Belgium, ranked second in FIFA’s world rankings, struggled in their first two group games.
They won 1-0 against Canada and lost 2-0 to Morocco. Their most recent loss may spell the end of the era for Roberto Martinez’s “golden generation.”
How The Match Progressed
Eden Hazard was dropped for his country’s do-or-die encounter and his introduction as a late replacement failed to lift his side.
Ivan Perisic went close to giving Croatia a dream start when he collected Luka Modric’s pass and rifled a shot inches wide inside the opening 10 seconds.
Belgium appeared nervous under the pressure, but Kevin De Bruyne drove them forward in the 13th minute and laid one on a plate for Dries Mertens, who blazed over the crossbar.
Martinez’s side were reprieved by the video assistant referee in the 15th minute after referee Anthony Taylor had awarded Croatia a penalty for Yannick Carrasco’s challenge on Andrej Kramaric.
The penalty decision was not in doubt, but VAR intervened and asked Taylor to check the pitch-side monitor for an earlier offside and the English official then ruled out the spot-kick.
Belgium began to dominate possession but failed to carve out another shot on target in a goalless first half.
Trending Stories: Christian Pulisic Says He “Did Not Get Hit In The Balls” In USA Win
Meanwhile, Croatia threatened again through Josip Juranovic’s first-time effort in time added on before the interval.
Half-time substitute Lukaku’s header soon after the restart was easily gathered by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic as Belgium looked to inject some urgency into the game.
However, Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced into successive saves from Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric.
Lukaku then squandered Belgium’s best chance. Another superb De Bruyne pass set up Carrasco and when his effort was blocked, the striker fired the rebound against a post.
There was more despair for Lukaku when he headed over from in front of an open goal, but De Bruyne had just failed to keep the ball in play before supplying another pin-point cross.
COMMENTS