Belgium vs Croatia: Following a poor 0-0 draw against Croatia on Thursday, Belgium was eliminated from the World Cup.
Belgium vs Croatia, Belgium knocked out of World Cup after a goalless draw, and Croatia into the round of 16
Belgium vs Croatia
To advance past the group stage, Roberto Martinez’s team needed to defeat the World Cup champions, but they were unable to score.
Romelu Lukaku entered the game after the captain Eden Hazard was benched, and he missed four significant opportunities as Belgium’s disappointing World Cup run came to an end.
Croatia goes to the round of 16, but only after coming in second place behind Morocco in the group after the latter’s 2-1 victory over Canada.
“Winning games in the World Cup is not simple,” Martinez said to the BBC following the match. We weren’t ourselves in the first game, and we lost the second one deservingly. We were organized and possibilities were made, so there are no regrets today. We’re over, but we can leave with dignity.
In the first 20 seconds, Ivan Perisic’s attempt went over the crossbar as Croatia immediately assumed control.
After 14 minutes, Belgium immediately counterattacked, but Dries Mertens was unable to find the goal following a superb through ball from Kevin de Bruyne.
Yannick Carrasco was found to have fouled Andrej Kramaric inside the penalty area less than a minute later, awarding Croatia a penalty.
Referee Anthony Taylor was sent to the monitor by the VAR as Luka Modric was getting ready to take the penalty kick, and the decision was reversed for offside during the buildup.
The remainder of the first half was a tense one, but after the break, the game picked up.
Thibaut Courtois of Belgium, who was called upon early on, stopped Croatia on three different occasions.
Inter Milan’s Lukaku, who entered the game in the second half, promptly squandered two excellent opportunities.
Just after the hour mark, Lukaku was the first to react to a rebound, and with the goalie out of position, he was able to hit the post from close range.
The striker then had the opportunity to score and headed another straightforward attempt over the crossbar.
As Croatia fended off late assaults from Belgium, the striker continued to miss two extra clear goals. It wasn’t a nice night for Lukaku.
