The runner-ups in 2018 Croatia and Belgium played to a scoreless tie in Group F, but they nevertheless advanced to the knockout round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
At the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Croatia advanced to the round of 16 as the group’s runner-up, but Belgium, the world’s No. 2 team, was forced to leave the championship game early due to the draw.
The tournament’s biggest letdown was Belgium, who finished with just four points from three games after winning one, losing one, and drawing one.
runners-up in group F Morocco won their group and advanced to the knockout stage for the first time in 36 years, while Croatia advanced to face the group winners in Group E in the round of 16. In the round of 16, they will take on the losers of Group E, which consists of Costa Rica, Germany, Japan, and Spain.
A few days ago, the Atlas Lions added another achievement to their resume by defeating World No. 2 Belgium 2-0. The Atlas Lions began their Qatari campaign with a 0-0 draw against Croatia. They ended with seven points and won the group with their second victory on Thursday.
Croatia finished second in the group with one victory, two draws, and five points, earning them a matchup with Group E’s eventual champions, most likely Spain.
Australia, France, Portugal, Brazil, Senegal, The Netherlands, Argentina, Poland, USA, and England were among the groups that had already qualified for the World Cup on Wednesday.
With the exception of a penalty awarded to Croatia that was later reversed by the VAR because it was determined that Dejan Lovren had briefly stepped offside before Yannick Carrasco’s foul on Andrej Kramaric, the first half did not include any noteworthy action.
Dries Mertens was substituted by Romelu Lukaku at the break, and he entered the match with purpose and immediately gave the Belgian team more vigour.
His squandered opportunities in the second half, though, proved expensive. Each one caused an audible moan from the crowd, and Inter Milan’s striker slapped the dugout in anger following the final horn.
Croatia did enough to ensure advancement despite their lacklustre performance—they had a penalty disallowed by VAR because of an offside during the buildup in the first half.
However, they appeared to be performing at a level below what they did to go to the final in Russia four years prior, and their post-qualifying celebrations were more sombre.
After failing to break the tie against Croatia despite numerous clear chances in the second half, the golden Belgian generation, led by Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, likely missed the last opportunity to win a World Cup.
Full Highlights
[embedpost slug=”/morocco-vs-canada-2-1-fifa-world-cup-2022-points-table/”]
