The Belgian national team was happy about the little – Sport – Kommersant
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One of the World Cup favorites, the Belgian team beat Canada 1-0 in Group F of the World Cup. This was the case when the outcome of the confrontation did not correspond to his logic. The Canadians had every chance of winning, but it just wasn’t their day.
The current World Cup teaches fans to make predictions on the outcome of a match based only on the rank of its participants, an extremely unreliable undertaking (those who bet on the national teams of Argentina and Germany felt this especially vividly – both giants began the tournament with defeats from, it would seem, obviously weaker opponents). But in the Belgium-Canada pair, betting on the Reds with their golden generation, although so far it has worked out only for bronze status, having won bronze at the 2018 World Cup, seemed to be the most reliable. Indeed, in the perception of fans, Canada has about the same thing with football as Brazil has with hockey, and Mongolia has with rowing. The mere entry of Canadians into the finals of the world championship was considered almost a sensation. By the way, this was only the second time that the Canadians made it to the World Cup. The first and very unpleasant for Canadians (three defeats in the group stage) took place back in 1986.
Fans, however, can think and believe whatever they want, regardless of whether their expectations are supported by facts. Football players, it seems, should be serious about any opponent. So it was with the perception of Canadians as real opponents, and not punching bags, that the Belgian team seemed to have obvious problems. Apparently, the seasoned Belgian team was preparing for the fact that the Canadian team would sit on the defensive, without even thinking about how to threaten the gates of Thibaut Courtois. And when the Canadians went forward from the very first seconds, reinforcing their claims with speed, excellent use of the flanks, and almost complete superiority in martial arts, the Belgians were taken aback. As a result, Eden Hazard, for whom a game with a simple opponent could be a good warm-up before the next matches, was remembered only for his endless falls, Kevin de Bruyne was completely invisible, and Michy Batshuayi could not even think about actually acting as a forward. The ball just didn’t reach him.
And the Canadians, meanwhile, were pressing and at the first opportunity they hit on goal. In less than ten minutes, they got the surest chance to take the lead. After a corner kick, Tojan Buchanan shot on goal and landed in the hand of Yannick Carrasco. The referee did not see the moment, but after the intervention of VAR he pointed to the point. However, Alphonso Davis failed to outplay Courtois.
Such a miraculous rescue, it would seem, should have shaken the Belgians, but no. Belgian stars did not even think to shine. Instead, they, in those moments when they were not busy repelling enemy attacks, sluggishly moved the ball across the field, simply not finding options for developing an attack and getting stuck in their own half of the field for a long time. And when, towards the close of the first half, Toby Alderweireld launched the ball forward almost across the entire field, it looked like a gesture of desperation. In fact, this shot turned out to be the perfect pass to Batshuayi, who, breaking away from the defender, kicked the ball into the net. An amazing goal. Both in execution and inconsistency with previous events in the match. But even such an undeserved slap in the face of the Canadians did not stop. They continued to press and even before the end of the half could even the score. But in the fall, Bushanan, who closed another chamber from the flank, broke through above the crossbar.
In the second half of the meeting, the Canadians continued to try to still push the ball into the Belgian goal, while the Belgians waited for the moment to counterattack. They, given that the Canadians were already frankly exposing the defense, were. But none of the teams managed to score like that. And at the end of the match, the Belgian team switched to a frank deduction of the account. Looking at how the players of the Belgian team rejoiced at the victory with a minimum score, it was clear how difficult it was for them.
Be that as it may, the Belgian team scored three points and topped group F. Croatia and Morocco, who played with a score of 0: 0, follow, and the Australians close the quartet.
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