Croatia eliminated from World Cup 2022

Leaving the field in the 87th minute, defender Thomas Meunier sat with his back to the billboard placed close to the field. After the final whistle, the camera turned to this defender, still with a blank expression. This 31-year-old defender belongs to Belgium's golden generation, having been eliminated from the 2022 World Cup in the group stage, even though they are ranked number two in FIFA. This could be the biggest surprise of this group stage.

Contrary to Meunier's stunned expression, Lukaku dropped to his knees and cried. He tormented himself before being encouraged by Belgium's assistant Thierry Henry. "Poor Lukaku", is the comment of journalist Rob Smyth of the Guardian. "He and Toby Alderweireld cried. The rest of the Belgian players collapsed to try to explain what had just happened."

Belgium have scored 16 times in this match, with an expected goal index (xG) of 3.4. Expected goals are used to measure the quality of shots, such as a penalty kick with an xG of 0.7. Lukaku alone finished five times, with xG up to 2.1. The probability of a player missing Lukaku's chances this game is equivalent to having them take the penalty three times and not get in the net. That is not to mention the phase Lukaku was placed in a favorable position but he could not shoot.

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