Belgium - Croatia: The end of the golden generation?
Belgium attends the 2022 World Cup as the second-placed team on the FIFA rankings and is one of the top candidates for the championship. But "Red Devils" disappointed, from the performance on the field to the problems behind the scenes.
In the opening leg, Belgium missed the ticket and escaped defeat in the 11th minute, when goalkeeper Thibault Courtois blocked Alphonso Davies' penalty. At the end of the first half, Michy Batshuayi sped up and then shot one touch to score the only goal of the match for Belgium. When no luck, Belgium lost to Morocco 0-2 in the next round.
Not only that, Belgium also has problems behind the scenes. According to French newspaper L'Équipe, after the defeat to Morocco, three stars De Bruyne, Jan Vertonghen and Eden Hazard clashed in the dressing room, causing Romelu Lukaku to intervene. Even De Bruyne was openly angry with Belgium's performance and repeatedly argued with teammates on the field.
On the opposite side, Croatia also had a bad start when they let Morocco hold a goalless draw. But the defending runner-up quickly returned when crushing Canada 4-1 in the next turn. Scoring four goals is Croatia's best record in a World Cup match, since a 4-0 win over Cameroon in 2014.
Luka Modric and his teammates also won the last 4 and drew the last 5 group stage matches at the World Cup. Their only defeats against European nations in their last 10 World Cup games have come against France, in 1998 and the 2018 final.
Croatia - currently ranked 12th on the FIFA rankings - is in high form when unbeaten in the last 8 matches in all competitions, and they have also lost only one of the last 18 international matches since Euro 2020. Croatia Croatia did not win against Belgium since a friendly won 1-0 in 2010, but the spirit is very high.
In Group F, Belgium is ranked third with three points, one point behind Croatia and Morocco. Roberto Martinez's army was forced to beat Croatia to win tickets to the 1/8 round. If drawn, Belgium will only advance if Canada beat Morocco by at least three goals in the match at the same time. This is considered a utopian scenario, because Canada has no chance to continue.
Belgium vs Croatia was one of the most balanced matches of the tournament to date, according to supercomputer Stats Performance. Belgium is rated higher with 37.2% chance of winning, while Croatia has 36.5%. Meanwhile, the draw - the result that will help Croatia progress - is rated at 26.3%.
Qatar 2022 is considered the last chance for the "Golden Generation" of Belgian football, including Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku or captain Eden Hazard, to make a miracle. But it was the team members who lost faith, especially De Bruyne when sharing in an interview that his generation was "too old" to win the World Cup.
If you do not win and are eliminated from the 2022 World Cup, today's match at Ahmed bin Ali's stadium is likely to be the end of the golden generation of Belgian football.
