Qatar 2022: Croatia Shut The Door On Red Devils As ‘Golden Generation’ Fails Again

Despite chances at the very end of the game, Belgium failed to score after an intense and contested game against Croatia. The final score read 0-0 in In this group F, as Morocco finally finished ahead of Croatia.

Belgium had no choice: they had to win to advance to the round of 16 (or hope for an unlikely victory for Canada in the other match of the group). But the second nation in the FIFA rankings could not do better than a draw on Thursday, December 1, against Croatia (0-0), who only needed a point at kick-off to ensure their qualification. The Croats made it to the round of 16 after their loss in the final against France in Moscow.

In the decisive match, the Croats almost started the game with a bang, with a first shot by Ivan Perisic, from the first seconds of play, who almost caught Thibaut Courtois off guard.

Then, Croatia kept up the pressure, and could have been rewarded in the first quarter of an hour with a penalty for a foul by Yannick Carrasco on Andrej Kramaric. The penalty was finally canceled after the usage of the video assistance referee for an offside at the start of the free kick.

The meeting was then clearly balanced. A physiognomy confirmed by the statistics, with 46% possession for each team and four attempts on target on either side.

Roberto Martinez made strong choices, leaving his two stars Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, the two top scorers of the previous edition, symbols of a “2018 generation”, stopped by France after a half – close final (1-0).

Entering the game after a return from the locker room, Romelu Lukaku (who had issues with his thigh at the start of the tournament) energized his team and added on by his presence in the area.

He announced himself for the first time in the with a header captured by Livakovic on a fine delivery by De Bruyne.

Belgium and its supporters will long remember the two missed opportunities by the Inter Milan striker. He first missed a first match point in the 87th, putting his foot wrongly with a reflex gesture on a powerful delivery from Thomas Meunier.

But it was above all the situation of the 90th minute that will be remembered: alone in front of goal, the center forward, lacked rhythm and lucidity, as he choses to the chest rather tgan propel the ball into the empty cage. He totally missed his attempt which ended in the arms of a very happy Livakovic.

It was already over for the Belgian hopes, who, after two qualifications in a row for the quarter finals, didn’t make the next round. It was perhaps the end of a generation, symbolized by Eden Hazard, brilliant in 2018 and barely four years later