DOHA: 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. And immediately after the match, coach Roberto Martinez resigned.
Quarter-final loss to Wales in Euro 2016 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 for 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.
This story is from the December 02, 2022 edition of Hindustan Times.
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This story is from the December 02, 2022 edition of Hindustan Times.
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