The first match of day 5 of the FIFA World Cup 2022 saw Belgium take on Canada in both the team’s first match of the tournament. World No. 02 Belgium has been one of the toppers of the world rankings since the last world cup in 2018 which saw them finish third.
The match began with Canada kicking off, and after a few short passes, Belgium quickly gain possession of the ball and begin their domination. Just around the first minute, Michy Batshuayi fires a long-range shot that dips in at the Canadian goalie Hutchinson, who did well to hold on to it. Canada took this as a warning and regrouped, coming back with a counterattack on Belgium but their efforts were thwarted. Several Canadian attempts to score followed, the closest coming in the 6th minute when Tajon Buchanan sent a header towards the goal but Belgian goalie Courtois pushed it away.
Around 34 minutes into the first half, Canada had a potential penalty chance when Laryea was seemingly taken down after a nudged Witsel inside the box. Though the VAR revealed that Witsel’s hand was on Laryea’s back and he also might have been tripped as well, the verdict ruled in favor of the Belgians as Canada are denied a penalty.
A couple of minutes after the score, the referee calls the whistle, bringing the first half to an end with Belgium leading the Canadians 1-0. Though Belgium took a lead, it is safe to say that Canada absolutely dominated the majority part of the first half, with forwards Laryea and Davis taking several digs to score, but were stopped by the Belgian defenders. 44 minutes into the game, the first goal comes from the boot of Batshuayi as he Directs a well-placed shot into the D from the midfield that passes teammate Yannick Carrasco into the goal, giving Belgium a 1-0 lead. 6 minutes added to extra time, but no change in the scorecard, as Belgium end the first half on a high.
As Belgium kicks off the second half, Stephen Eustaquio sends in a cross to Alphonso Davies, but he headed it wide off the goal. A series of missed opportunities and soft fouls continued as Canada was desperately trying to get at least an equalizer. Belgium also had a few chances to double their score but was denied by Canadian defenders Richie Laryea and Kamal Miller. The Canadians were doing great to prevent their opponents from scoring, keeping things tight in their D, but they weren’t being able to close the score gap either. As the match headed into the last 6 minutes of extra time, the only task Belgium had was to maintain their lead which they did and the final whistle blew, ensuring that the red devils clinch a 1-0 win in their opening match.
Canada was utterly dominant in that first half but ended up trailing 1-0 in the end. Belgium got extremely lucky with several refereeing decisions ruling in their favor. The probable reason behind Canada’s failure today is execution. Canada just couldn’t convert opportunities into goals despite having more attacking avenues due to their woeful finishing.
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