The Belgians stood up to take off – Newspaper Kommersant No. 220 (7421) dated 11/28/2022
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In the first match of the second round of group F, the Belgian team lost to the team of Morocco with a score of 0:2. Having shown about the same nondescript football as in their first game against the Canadians, the Belgians, who, according to forecasts, were not only obliged to qualify from the group, but also claimed the medals, are now at risk of being left without a play-off. In turn, the Moroccan team got excellent chances to get there from the first place.
After the opening round, following the results of which only one goal was scored in two matches of Group F, it was not necessary to count on high performance in this meeting. Moreover, Romelo Lukaku, the most productive striker of the Belgian national team, failed to enter the field again due to an injury to his left hip in the starting lineup. And the first half confirmed that compared to the first game of the tournament against the Canadians, who lost to the group favorites with a minimum score, nothing has changed in the mood of the Belgians. The formidable-named team, which actually looked interesting enough during the qualifying tournament, hitting the opponents’ goal 25 times in eight matches, acted as tediously as they did four days ago. And paid for it with defeat.
Of course, it was impossible to say that the wards of Roberto Martinez, who has been leading the Belgian national team for the seventh season, did not think about attacking, but their actions were clearly not sharp enough. Before the break, the Belgians created only two truly dangerous moments. At the beginning of the match, Michy Batshuayi responded to the transfer of Thorgan Azar into the penalty area, but Tunisian goalkeeper Mohamedi Munir turned the ball to a corner, and in the 40th minute Kevin de Bruyne struck from a free kick just above the gate. The Moroccans, in turn, although they owned the ball much less often, also did not hesitate to disturb someone else’s goalkeeper. Their leader, Hakim Ziyech, was especially notable. In the middle of the first half, the Chelsea striker, unexpectedly for the Belgian goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, shot above the crossbar. And just before the break, Ziyech deceived Courtois with a twisted blow and even hit his goal, but due to the fact that the Moroccan captain Romain Saiss, who did not touch the ball, actively participated in that episode, was in an offside position, the goal was not counted.
Most of the second half went about the same way. The Africans, led forward by Ziyech, looked even more active, and their rivals continued to squander moments created with great difficulty. In addition, Munir acted very clearly, neutralizing the dangerous blows of Eden Hazard and the 35-year-old veteran Dries Mertens, who replaced him. In such a game, probably, no one would be surprised by the second goalless draw of the Moroccan team, but in the 73rd minute it showed that the episode with the unaccounted goal was by no means accidental. True, the free kick was now appointed not on the right flank of the attack, but on the left and at a much sharper angle. Yes, and this time it was performed by Abdelhamid Sabiri from the Italian Sampdoria. However, everything else was very similar. Saiss was again in front of the goal, confusing Courtois, who did not see the trajectory of the ball, and the Real Madrid goalkeeper conceded a goal into the near corner.
The efforts of the Belgians to recoup were not successful, although Martinez still took a chance by releasing an unprepared Lukaku. And already in stoppage time, Ziyech was once again in the spotlight, to the delight of the public, which for the most part supported the Moroccans. For the umpteenth time, he rushed into the penalty area, with the help of a cunning feint, deceived Timothy Castagne and laid the ball under the blow of the Moroccan joker Zakaria Abouhlal, who appeared on the field 20 minutes before the end of the game. And he didn’t miss.
And this means that before the last round the position of the Belgians became critical. With three points and a negative difference between goals scored and conceded, on Thursday they will meet with vice-champions of the world – the Croats, who will also certainly be extremely motivated. The Moroccans, before the meeting with the Canadian team, of course, still did not guarantee anything to themselves. But their chances of a place in the playoffs are now quoted much higher.
Group F table
V N P M O
1. Croatia 1 1 0 4:1 4
2. Morocco 1 1 0 2:0 4
3. Belgium 1 0 1 1:2 3
4. Canada 0 0 2 1:5 0
December 1 in the third, final round meet: Canada-Morocco, Croatia-Belgium.
Belgium-Morocco 0:2
Sabiri, 73; Abukhlal, 90+2
November 27th. Doha, Al Thumama Stadium. 43,738 spectators.
Match statistics
Belgium Morocco
Shots on goal 10 10
shots on target 3 4
Corner 9 1
Offsides 3 2
fouls 10 14
Warnings 1 1
Possession percentage 67 33
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