(Football news) Belgium began their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Canada. The other game of their group was a 0-0 draw between Morocco and Croatia which is good news for Belgium as well as Canada. Roberto Martinez had to start Michy Batshuayi up front as Romelu Lukaku wasn't fit enough. Veterans Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld started in defense with Thibaut Courtois between the sticks. Canada had Jonathan David upfront while Alfonso Davies was given a free role. Despite winning the game, Belgium will be very disappointed with their performance as Canada were all over them. This was Canada's first World Cup appearance since 1986 and they would've beaten the number 2 ranked nation in the world if the finishing would've been better.
From minute one Canada were on the front foot as they put Belgium under a lot of pressure. Their perseverance was rewarded when they won a penalty in the 9th minute after a handball by Yannick Carrasco. Alfonso Davies stepped up to take the spot kick which was saved by Thibaut Courtois. This was Courtois's 5th penalty save in 2022 which is simply incredible and shows why he is the best goalkeeper in the world. Belgium failed to assert their authority on the game but did manage to break the deadlock right before half-time. Alderweireld's long ball was controlled by Batshuayi who found the back of the net.
Martinez did make two half time changes as he replaced Yannick Carrasco with Thomas Meunier and Youri Tielemans with Amadou Onana. Belgium got a little more control in the 2nd half but Canada were still dangerous. They had a total of 22 shots compared to Belgium's 9. Martinez after the game said how it was not a good performance and demanded improvement. De Bruyne, who won the Player of the Match award said "I don't think I played a great game. I don't know why I got the trophy. Maybe it's because of the name. Credit to Canada." Belgium needs to improve drastically if they want to go far into the tournament.
Also read: 2022 World Cup: Japan stun Germany with comeback win in Group E opener
