It makes pompous Belgium and its golden generation look old, which is probably because pompous Belgium and its golden generation may be aging. The emergence of a new opponent full of unrepentant strivers has made it look as though Belgium have struggled in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the past two World Cups. At times, on cool, clear nights, it seemed to creak almost audibly, even though the 40,432 Ahmed Ben Ali Stadium might have drowned out the sound. Kevin De Bruyne, 31, Manchester City’s star Belgian midfielder, was full of melancholy after the game: “No, I don’t think I played a good game. Well, I don’t know why.” i have a trophy [for man of the match]”
He said his team made the pitch too wide and, as manager Roberto Martinez put it, “We made the pitch too big.”
The whole thing resulted in the technically failing manager, Canada’s John Herdman, huddling with his team and saying with passion, “You’ve proven you can live here!” Admittedly. Hedman later said: “I’m so proud of the lads. The effort is unreal . . . If we can be relentless in our offense, we can get something out of these games. This group is open. ’ He jokingly suggested “four days of shooting practice” ahead of time.
The first question for Belgium manager since 2016 is whether this is really the worst major game of his Belgian tenure.
“Technically, are we the worst game? Yeah,” he said.
“Is this the worst game? No,” he said, because one win rules out that distinction.
To clarify, Belgium opened Group F with a win and drew 0-0 with Croatia and Morocco as they did not give up their know-how. “Winning when you’re not playing well, it’s not an accident,” Martinez said. Belgium benefited from Canada’s bold bid fest and adorned it with an errant shot before it took the only chance it ultimately needed.
It was in the 43rd minute, the then 33-year-old Toby Alderweireld’s 125th appearance, that he sent a long, beautiful ball down the pitch, some 60 yards, and hit the hit a spot that might prove useful. There, Michy Batshuayi, the 29-year-old oft-known as “The Hitter,” understood it more than the fence, sprinting to the box and fighting with fullback Rich Larry. Richie Laryea and Kamal Miller quickly took it towards him for an exhale at the start of the second jump, then quickly drilled the ball into the back right corner of the goal.
Injustice is in the air.
Canada’s 22-year-old prodigy Alphonso Davies looks to have healed from a hamstring injury and walks around like electricity in what must have been the same June 9, 1986 match in Irapuato, Mexico. (Irapuato)’s mere 14,200 viewers saw something very different. That day, in their previous World Cup match, Canada lost 2-0 to the USSR, and yes, they neither won nor scored in the World Cup.
They’re still looking for the first goal, and you have to think they’re going to get it here, and they’re almost getting it in single-digit minutes. That was when Tajon Buchanan fired from the crowd in the box and was saved by legendary goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, 30, but a VAR review showed Belgium’s Yannick Carrasco passed the ball to him and Canada suddenly won in the ninth minute. Penalties, even if the referee blows the whistle about halfway to forever in the meantime.
Davies received the ball, slid it to the left, Courtois dived to the right and slammed the ball back into the box, Davies hit again but missed his chance. At this point, Courtois puffed out like a goalkeeper’s pharaoh, surrounded by admiration and gratitude from his teammates.
Then his team moved on slowly. “You need to give a lot of respect to Canada’s performance,” Martinez said. “We know they’re dynamic, they’re aggressive.” He called them “a modern team” with “everyone on defense” and “everyone on offense.” He also cited the odd timing of the 22nd World Cup, with limited time for the team to reunite, saying: “Today is our fifth day together. You’ll see how this format will work with the national team’s growth in the group stages. Relevant. If you can win while doing that, it’s a unique opportunity.”
Canada struggled, however, to take a 19-6 advantage in shots before Belgium entered the next few days of “self-criticism and analysis,” as Martinez said. The shot misses to the right. The shot misses to the left. The most important thing is to shoot over the goal. In the 79th minute, Alistair Johnston crossed and Courtois saved Celer Larin’s header from the right. Davis recovered well from the free throw and earned Hedman’s evaluations of “good performance tonight” and “more discipline” while showing “gravity” and “resilience.”
All of that, more like it lasted through the first half and most of the second half, until the whole thing became an amusing reminder that life isn’t fair.