Belgium defeats Canada 1-0 and takes the lead in Group F of Qatar 2022

Belgiumranked third in the previous World Cup, suffered more than expected to beat Canada 1-0 in their first match in Qatar-2022, this Wednesday in Doha, in a match in which Thibaut Courtois saved a penalty.

Michy Batshuayi, substitute in attack for the currently injured Romelu Lukaku, scored the only goal of the night in the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium in the 44th minute. With this victory, the Belgian team leads Group F after the goalless draw between Morocco and Croatia.

“Worst technical performance”

Belgium coach Roberto Martinezhe was happy with what he called a deserved victory against the canadian national team despite the team’s “worst technical performance” in his six years in office.

After what Argentina y Germany lose their first games, Belgium came close to suffering another big upset. But the team that finished third in the 2018 World Cup He took the victory and leads the group with two points more than Croatia and Morocco, who earlier tied without goals.

“Was it technically the worst performance? Yes. Worst game? No, because it’s a World Cup win. We had to show a different side of our game and we had to defend very well. We scored a very good goal,” Martinez said at a press conference after the game.

“You have to respect Canada’s performance very much. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do well, while they did what they were supposed to do well, but we deserve the victory,” he added.

There is a lot of room for improvement for Belgium, which was a shadow of the team that reached the quarter-finals in Russia four years ago.

“We have to be self-critical and improve, but it’s better to do it when you have three points, especially after seeing what happened (with Argentina and Germany),” said Martínez.

But midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was clearly dissatisfied and was given no consolation by the man of the match award he received.

“I don’t think I played a great match, I don’t know why I got the trophy, maybe because of my name,” he said.

In the second day of the Group, Belgium will play on Sunday against Morocco.

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