Croatia 0-0 Belgium: Red Devils eliminated in group stage as 2018 runners-up advance

Belgium was eliminated from the World Cup in the group round after a 0-0 draw with Croatia on Thursday at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.

Following Morocco’s 2-1 victory against Canada in Group F, Belgium needed to win to move to the last 16, while Croatia needed to avoid defeat.

A lackluster first half in which the primary talking point was an overturned Croatia penalty gave way to a significantly more tense second half.

Romelu Lukaku came on at halftime and missed a few good chances, hitting the post on one of them, but the game ended goalless as Belgium crashed out.

A penalty granted for Yannick Carrasco’s challenge on Andrej Kramaric was overruled for offside against Dejan Lovren in the build-up as Luka Modric lined up to take it.

Lukaku’s introduction coincided with the game finally getting going, with the Inter striker forcing Dominik Livakovic into his first stop of the game just over three minutes after coming on.

This galvanized Croatia into action, and Thibaut Courtois, playing in his 100th cap, produced three stops in four minutes to deny midfield trio Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, and Luka Modric.

After Carrasco’s blocked shot landed perfectly in his way, Lukaku hit the post with plenty of the net to aim for, before headed over from close range with the goal again gaping – though VAR may have intervened even if he had scored.

The biggest miss was yet to come, as Lukaku failed to help the ball over the line from a few of yards after Thorgan Hazard’s cross was missed by Lovren, resulting in Belgium’s elimination and Croatia’s second-place finish behind Morocco.

What does it imply? Is the ‘Golden Generation’ coming to an end?

Belgium underwhelmed in their first two games in Qatar, a 1-0 win over Canada and a 2-0 loss to Morocco, and while they looked much better against Croatia, the world’s second-ranked team could not find the goal they required.

Many members of the Red Devils’ aged roster have clearly reached the end of the road after being hyped as one of the favourites for numerous tournaments over the last decade, with this being only the second occasion in eight attempts that they have not progressed beyond the group stage.

Croatia, the 2018 runners-up, had to rely on chance in a game in which they had an expected goals (xG) return of 0.70 compared to 3.06 for their opponents, but they are the ones who advance to the last 16, where the winners of Spain and Germany’s groups await.

Belgium’s woes are summed succinctly by Lukaku.

Lukaku had only played 54 minutes in Belgium’s opening two matches as he worked his way back to fitness, and it was evident after coming on at halftime that he was still lacking match sharpness.

From his five shots, the 29-year-old hit the post and missed two more fantastic opportunities. Meanwhile, Belgium’s 16 shots were the highest without a goal in a World Cup group stage encounter since 1994. (25 against Saudi Arabia).

Dalic’s team holds on

Croatia would have hoped to have found a winner to finish ahead of Morocco and therefore set up a more favorable last-16 encounter, but head coach Zlatko Dalic will simply be pleased to have advanced.

Josko Gvardiol, who has been linked with a number of Europe’s best teams, was sturdy at the back, making a game-high nine clearances – only three others have made more in a match this tournament.

Facts about Opta:

After failing to advance from their group in three successive appearances (2002, 2006, 2014), Croatia has now advanced from their group in consecutive editions (2018, 2022).
Belgium scored one goal in this World Cup, having scored fewer goals only once in 19 prior appearances in big competitions (World Cup and Euros) (1930 World Cup – 0).
For the first time since 1982, the Red Devils failed to score in consecutive World Cup matches against Poland and the Soviet Union.
Belgium has won just one of their past five games in all competitions (D1 L3), and this was their first goalless draw since June 2018 against Portugal, a span of 61 games.
Croatia has only been defeated once in their past 19 matches in all competitions (W12 D6), and they are now unbeaten in nine games (W6 D3).

What comes next?

Croatia will meet the Group E winners on Monday, while Belgium will now have to wait nearly four months before facing Sweden in their first Euro 2024 qualifier.