Morocco Wins 2-1 Over Canada
Advances to Round of 16 as Group F Leader
Croatia and Belgium Draw
Croatia Advances to Round of 16 as Group Runner-up
[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] Morocco caused an upset and succeeded in advancing to the Round of 16. It is the first time in 36 years since the 1986 Mexico tournament.
On the 2nd (Korean time), Morocco won 2-1 against Canada in the third match of Group F in the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup group stage held at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
Initially, the expected teams to advance to the Round of 16 from Group F were Belgium, ranked 2nd in the FIFA rankings, and Croatia, the runner-up of the 2018 Russia World Cup. However, the situation changed when Morocco defeated Belgium 2-0 in the second match, and by winning 2-1 against Canada, Morocco advanced to the Round of 16 as the group leader (2 wins, 1 draw). Croatia took second place with 1 win and 2 draws. Belgium failed to advance to the Round of 16 with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss.
Belgium's first goal of the day came just 4 minutes after the start of the match. When Canadian defender Steven Vit?ria back-passed the ball to the goalkeeper, the ball headed toward Moroccan forward Youssef En-Nesyri. Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan hurriedly cleared the ball leaving the goal empty, but Hakim Ziyech intercepted the ball and accurately shot it into the empty net with his left foot to score a goal.
In the 23rd minute of the first half, right-back Achraf Hakimi received a long pass played forward from the Moroccan half and scored by shooting low to the lower right corner of the goal with his right foot.
Canada's point came from a Moroccan own goal. Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe broke through the left side of Morocco's half and delivered a low and fast cross toward the goal, which deflected off Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd's foot and went straight into the goal.
At the same time, the match between Croatia and Belgium held at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, ended in a 0-0 draw.
In the 15th minute of the first half, a penalty kick was awarded when Belgium's Yannick Carrasco stepped on Croatia's Andrej Kramari?'s foot inside the penalty area, creating a scoring opportunity. However, after a video assistant referee (VAR) review, it was ruled that Croatia's Dejan Lovren was in an offside position, and the penalty kick was canceled.
In stoppage time of the second half, a ball crossed by Thorgan Hazard passed Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovi? and headed toward Romelu Lukaku waiting in front of the goal, but Lukaku's chest trap caused the ball to fall long, allowing goalkeeper Livakovi? to catch it. The match ultimately ended in a draw.
As a result, Belgium was eliminated from the group stage for the first time in 24 years since the 1998 France tournament.
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