And so it ended. With a whimper. Even surviving a penalty call early against Croatia couldn’t spur on Belgium’s golden generation. Like Denmark on Wednesday, they go home after three group league games with their performance never hitting the expected highs.
Morocco and Croatia are through from Group F. It left Kevin de Bruyne standing with hands on hips in the centre-circle trying to make sense of the 0-0 draw that sent him and the team of cracking but ageing stars home after the group stage. Only once has that happened in the last seven World Cups.
Quarter-final loss to Wales in the European championships – one that was more about Hal Robson-kanu’s Cruyff Turn than it was about Belgian wizards – quarter-final exit again in the Euros last year and a semi-final loss to France in the 2018 World Cup, that has been the sum total of achievements over the past six years or the team which went into the tournament ranked No. 2 on the planet.
Belgium threw everything in the final moments and Romelu Lukaku missed chances that could have been their ticket to survival but equally, it was the ordinary show against Canada and the defeat to Morocco that undid them in Doha.
In a competition also called the Arab World Cup, a roar went across the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium as the giant screens showed Morocco on top based on how the games were placed in the 34th minute. Belgium were third as per the standings then and even that couldn’t get them going.
Unlike on Wednesday when Poland were calculating yellow cards and planning substitutions accordingly, this was straightforward. Irrespective of what happened in the Morocco-Canada game, Belgium had to win. Till around the hour mark, Belgium, who had started with Eden Hazard on the bench, never looked the part.
Croatia did. Ivan Perisic began with a swinging shot from the left that didn’t miss by much in the opening minute. Then, came the penalty call. It was overruled after referee Anthony Taylor found Dejan Lovren to be in off-side position. This was in the 15th minute and after Luka Modric’s free kick was partially cleared by Jan Vertonghen and Yannick Carrasco after which he left a leg on a Croatia player.
Taylor pointed to the spot, Modric got ready to tee off when the referee went checking the pitchside monitor. Having seen the replay, he thought Lovren was beyond the last defender.
In a match of few clear chances, surprising given the quality of the teams, Croatia forced two quick saves off Thibaut Courtois early in the second half. The Belgium goalkeeper first tipped over Mateo Kovacic’s shot and then from Marcelo Brozovic. And one from Modric in the 68th minute.
Belgium had two half-chances early in the game, both from Carrasco but his first effort was blocked and the second cleared for a corner kick by goalkeeper Dominik Livacovic. Too patient in their build-ups, they struggled to find space – and inspiration — as Croatia dropped deep. De Bruyne produced one but it was cut out by Livakovic.
Romelu Lukaku’s introduction livened things up a bit. Finally, it seemed Belgium had heard the clang of the alarm clock. A De Bruyne delivery was cleared for a corner-kick by the impressive Josko Gvardiol who, in the 82nd minute, also stuck a leg out for a backpass that was not deliberate but which went to Livacovic. The next minute, with Lukaku a step behind, Gvardiol urged Livakovic to come forward and seeing the goalkeeper rooted to his line, cleared his lines before making his displeasure at his teammate evident.
Lukaku headed a De Bruyne delivery to the goalkeeper and thudded into the upright in the 60th minute after Carrasco’s shot was stopped by Josip Juranovic. By now, Belgium seemed to have got the memo but Lukaku couldn’t control a ball from Thomas Meunier inside the six-yard box and then a Thorgen Hazard delivery beat Livakovic and Lovren but thudded into Lukaku’s chest and into the grateful arms of the goalkeeper. Their final chance too fell to Lukaku but it was Gvardiol who stretched a leg to keep it out. It made the difference between Croatia staying and Belgium leaving.