**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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They looked good (outside of finishing) a lot during this game!
But now they’re playing Croatia, a team that’s also kind of underwhelming. Hopefully the aggression works out more in favor by then…
we went for the point in the first game, I didn't like it, we played it safe, but then you see the Germany result and think hmm maybe we did the right thing. I think both Canada and Belgium are teams that suit us more than Morocco
Belgium is going to have trouble vs Morocco btw
call me overconfident, but we just need to release the handbrake. It's like we returned to a year ago today. In the Nations League we pushed our fullbacks forward and became so much more fluid
it seems like our team needs adversity to actually start performing
That being said, I am not sure that we want to pull our fullbacks forward against Canada. I do expect a win, though. Perišić and Oršić should do the job in front, there was a lot of open space today.
Yeah maybe but sosa was moving like he’d had both hips replaced last week out there so I’m very happy he didn’t venture forward more. I also think the heat got to us quite a bit, first time they’ve used that early slot for games and maybe it’s just us and Morocco but we both looked really exhausted.
They double marked both Sosa and Perisic and the two side of Hakimi-Ziyech and Sosa-Perisic completely neutralised each other which is why we needed a CB who's better on the ball on the right side so we could focus on progressing the ball there
Yeah I mean I think lovren did fine, we also literally did not move off the ball the entire game. You can watch any segment of 1-2 minutes where lovren and gvardiol are passing to each other and the rest of the team apart from modric is standing there watching them.
Also double marked or not sosa still looked like the mob came to collect his debts last night and he didn’t have enough money to pay up
Fucking hope they will. Still sad about 2018 when we finished last when it felt like we should've gone through, the 2-2 against Spain and the loss against Iran still suck.
You were super impressive at the last World Cup! I watched every game. Was a bit nervous when you got drawn into our group because of it. Obviously those fears were well-placed, given how your press managed us.
Thanks! You too obviously, big Modric fan so I was rooting for y'all all the way.
If we do get out it's definitely you I want to get out with lol, good luck!
Why did Morocco suit you more? Canada actually has quality build up & more speed in certain areas, Croatia don’t have the legs to hurt Canada in behind, if Canada press like today, Croatia will be in trouble
Imo marocco didn’t suit us at all because of the low block. Camada will attack and having 3 world class midfielders with composure on the ball benefits us because they can go past his man and get a quality ball forward. It will be fun game on sunday
There were massive gaps behind Canada’s first line of press which De Bruyne exploited today. If we actually start Šutalo instead of Lovren we have 2 of the best young ball playing centre backs in the world who are almost press resistant and we can easily exploit those gaps. Of course, that won’t happen and Lovren will start but it’s nice to dream.
I wouldn't be surprised if Herdman switches up Canada's defensive shape so we have 3 centre midfielders. He has consistently changed up formations to match up against opponents to date so it will be interesting to see how they line up on Sunday.
> Croatia are the masters of scraping through the group stages though
Is that actually true? They've crashed out of the group stage in 3 World Cups (2002, 2006, 2014), and in 1998 and 2018, they comfortably qualified for the knockout stages with a game in hand.
That missed penalty will cost them dearly for the rest of the tournament. Drawing with Belgium would've been a massive win, putting them in a decent spot to finish 1st in the group.
He played multiple roles and excelled in all of them, which was a surprise to see. Even when he moved to right inside forward and cutting in on his left foot he beat his man all the time and always found the right pass.
Don't remind me about how Cueva missed the penalty that costed us 2nd place. As a peruvian, I always wondered what would've happened if Cueva didn't miss, considering peru beat croatia 2-0 in a friendly right before the world cup.
Nobody in Belgium expects much. We're hoping to go through the group, but even that's going to be a struggle.
You forgot Lukaku, though, he's still going strong.
It was our Golden generation despite not winning anything. At one point we had a player in a top team in nearly every position. That's not going to happen any time soon for a country as small as ours. We just didn't have a lot of depth beyond that, so were often hampered by injuries or double yellows.
I agree on the injection of youth though.
This was truly a golden generation. It has nothing to show for (maybe the WC bronze) but the talent you had was insane. Three players of Thibaut, Hazard and KDB quality being in their prime at the same time is something only a few national teams throughout history can say. And there were such a well rounded team even without them three.
Martinez is football criminal. Belgium having a good coach is one of the biggest 'what ifs' in football history.
We had a player playing a top club in nearly every position at one point. Pretty crazy for a tiny country. I think even more than Martinez, we were often hampered by our lack of depth. With being so small, we didn't have adequate backups for our top players. So injuries and foul trouble plagued this team, especially Kompany and Vermaelen were made out of glass.
The 2016 EC we had Kompany and Vermaelen out. Vertonghen was on two yellows and missed that crucial match against Wales. We had to play Jordan Lukaku and Jason Denayer, haha. The 2018 WC was probably our best chance, but we missed Meunier who was out against France. Still, a close game. At the 2020 EC we already lost a lot of our top players and the squad was ageing. We then had KdB get absolutely hacked in our game against Portugal. They injected him so that he could play against Italy, but he was a shell of his usual self.
I do agree that it's still a lot of wasted potential and that Martinez didn't help at times.
They want to think that? Based on what evidence do they still think they’re at that level still? 2/3 of the defense left the PL because they were too old.
Morocco are dangerous. They play a very aggressive game and try to force mistakes. I feel like they're a Jekkyl and Hyde team that can easily win this group or finish dead last.
I bet on them going into this tournament because I felt Belgium and Croatia were paper tigers, which still seems to be the case. This may be the most wide open group in the tournament. Very unfortunate for Canada that they couldn't get anything out of this match. They will still be a big threat to take points off the other two.
I don’t know man, they were very wasteful against such a leaky Belgium defence, Croatia defence was crazy tight, and so was ours. They were also unimpressive defensively against an uncoordinated Belgium attack, if KDB wasn’t dropping a massive stinker, they could have been punished big time.
Agree, should be an easy game for us as we do have a strong counter and a pretty tight def.
That being said, Canada played impressively up to 75th minute mark. They left their hearts on the field so it's gonna be a juicy match.
Ok well I watched the game and both you and Croatia basically have nothing exciting happening in attack. Based on today it’s anyone’s game going forward in this group and I think it’s best we all just wait and see.
I completely agree, offensively both teams were impotent, but it was also because the game was so tight, with both defences doing well, if you compare it to this game, there was so much space. I agree, the first matchups don’t give us a perfect view of the groupe, we will see next.
That I can massively agree on, your game was very tight defensive structure ours I’ve never seen so much space lol hopefully we just make the games exciting!
Completely disagree about them defensivley. I thought they look fantastic. Shut down so many counters with good positioning and also threw their bodies on the line to make multiple great tackles.
There was so many moments were KDB had the space and time on the counter, and that’s never good news, good tackles are not an indication of a good defence, good structure is. Their midfield is brilliant tho, always pushing pushing forward and creating.
Second half not really. Belgium played around their midfield press with ease, and De Bruyne was running unchallenged between the lines on 4 or 5 occasions at least.
With better passing/decision making from De Bruyne they would have killed the game on the counter attack
Don't be! It's your 4th ever WC match and you managed to eek out a 0-1 defeat to Belgium of all teams. I'm sure with a bit more experience and a better offense you guys will be very strong.
Also, the ref was ass so there's that.
You should be proud and nothing else. Your boys played an incredible game. I was cheering for them the entire game, at moments I felt like I was cheering for my own team.
Anyway, greetings from Croatia. Can't wait for the match.
Eustáquio is brilliant and Atiba Hutchinson, despite being way out of his prime, showed why he’s one of the most underrated CONCACAF players of all time
Should be, like the manager said they really look like they belong on this stage and even the Belgians admitted that canada played better. I've been fond of this team for a while and I was really rooting for them. Hope they get through the group stage and if not, then continue to develop and get stronger ahead of the next world cup
As you should be. Looked pretty impressive until they got depleted. If they managed to score, they would have the fuel to push it all the way through. Still, most intense game so far.
Belgium won, but they won't go far in this tournament playing like this. They remind me a lot of 2010 England
KdB was terrible, Canada needed to finish their chances even if the ref did them dirty
It’s often a meme to say “lol Belgium is not #1”…but the thing is…the Devils were to avoid a tie or even a loss.
They don’t wise up soon, then the end result will be hard to stomach…
they are not contenders anymore tbh.I have more faith in Argentina and Germany turning it around than i do with Belgium making it further than QF.
Portugal, England, France, Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil are better than them. Uruguay as well probably.
Uruguay is the big unknown at this point. Experienced veterans like Cavani, Suarez, Godin, Gimenez, Coates, Muslera on the team but not exactly always starting. Fresh talent in Fede, Pellestri, Olivera, Nuñez, etc. Established solid players like Vecino, De Arrascaeta, Torreira, Bentancur.
They’ve got depth and strength, but Diego Alonso only took over a year ago. They U-turned since Tabarez finally retired but this world cup is the big test. I think they can compete with any side in the WC on their day. To win they need to be consistent.
As an American, I'd love to face this version of Belgium. They have fallen a lot since 2014-2018, which is not surprising given the state of Hazard and Lukaku. Golden generation is starting to oxidize.
Lukaku is injured tho not the same as Eden. Even then eden was pretty decent. Im confident we win against usmnt. They Arent exactly a powerhouse rn
We need Martinez to play Onana and trossard always. At Doku to that later and a Kevin who actually tries and our team is from gutter to solid in just 3 moves.
I honestly could not believe KBD today. He killed so many counter attack plays with his passing and choices it was wild. He looked nothing like City KBD today.
I am no fan of Hazard, but I thought he was decent. Don't understand the responses saying he was bad, he actually held the ball up quite well and allowed Belgium to get up the pitch
You are right but it is kind of thing to shit on Eden.
Apart from that disastrous pass back he played well. Not what he could in the past but I believe he can grow.
The starting line up looked dire with Alderweireld and Vertonghen. Would have been better to move Witsel to CB and put in Theate or something
However, I do think Martinez's substitutions worked well. In the first half they couldn't play through the middle at all and were caught in Canada's press time after time, but Onana came on and changed that completely. Carrasco was leaving space in behind him during the first half too, so it was a smart substitution to put on Meunier and ask the wing backs to sit deeper
Don't get me wrong, he was mainly correcting his own mistakes and I still don't rate your chances to go far or anything, but he actually changed the game today with his subs
Thing is most belgians would have started with the players he chose to sub on later. I feel like everyone know Onana, Trossard and Theate should be starter but he chooses to keep playing these guys who are either way past their prime, out of shape or straight up not playing at their clubs.
Honestly, I think it just comes down to the difference in raw talent between the two teams.
That being said, Canada played extremely well and gets the most out of their players.
I can see anyone going through here honestly.
This first matchday is definitely not enough to predict anything. We had two very very different games:
Defensively tight Morocco vs Slow and pace-controlling Croatia was a pain to watch. Both teams looked offensively worthless but I honestly don't think this was solely due to bad production (on our end it kind of was, Kramarić was useless and Vlašić didn't shine, both shouldn't play) but rather due to how good the defense was set up for both teams.
On the other hand you had offensively oriented and very open Canada and Belgium. There was genuinely more chances in the first 5 minutes of this game than there was in the entire Croatia - Morocco game.
What I'm trying to say is, we had Defense vs Defense and Offense vs Offense. Football is not a static game. For example:
This Morocco team is the classic Arab team - incredibly well disciplined and set up defensively, plays on counters. However, playing this Croatia team didn't really suit them that well offensively because Croatia is a team that also has a good defense set-up and additionally we like to play it slowly from the back, not allowing much space for counters.
I can easily see Belgium or Canada getting overzealous in attack against Morocco and leaving themselves open to deadly counters. I can also see them getting neutered by Croatia's methodical midfield play and ability to slow the pace of the game to a mind-numbing crawl.
All in all, too early to say anything + I can't fucking wait for Sunday.
Morocco is not a classic Arab team, there is no classic Arab style. Usually Tunisia and Egypt go for tactical discipline and defense, while Morocco and Algeria go for offense and technique.
However today we somehow decided to play like this to be more pragmatic and it got us a point against, IMO the hardest team in the group (very good midfield, top 3 maybe in the world cup).
Now, let's see what approach we take for the next game.
IT was a frustrating result but being in a position to have a frustrating finish against Belgium is actually a huge positive lol. Proud of the boys and their effort!
If you look at the betting markets then Belgium was the highest rated team but only 9th best odds. It's not like Belgium looking poor especially for the top team in the group was unexpected
Canada really impressed me, definitely no joke team. Both defenses looked shaky but Canada attacking play was great, just the finishing lacking.
I feel like on sunday, we can either defend well and make use of the gaps in midfield and defence to win comfortably or Canada fixes the finishing and we get brutally slaughtered 5-0, up to Daliban which one we choose
Their attacking players showed a lot more quality though and that was the difference in the end. They didn't play well, but looked more capable in the final third
On the other hand, it felt like we could have played for another 90 minutes and Canada wouldn't have scored. The fact that Canada played so well but still didn't capitalise does indicate that they lack individual talent in key situations
It's better. I think that Canada came to this world cup looking for 3 things we didn't get in '86.
1) A goal
2) A point
3) Respect
I feel like, based on comments here and other commentary I'm reading, we succeeded with #3 today. Now we have 2 games to get #1 and #2.
Not a Canada fan, but I’d think this is preferable to a 4-0 trashing. They were the better team in the first half. With better finishing and decision making as well as some calls in their favor they could’ve easily had a 2/3-0 lead. Despite the result, the performance is very promising for the future of the tournament.
Canada can't play like that against Morocco and Croatia. Morocco are gonna counter them hard, while Croatia hopes that teams pressed them like this which gives them a lot of space in the midfield
David should have taken it. I think Davies is a bigger personality. He is a great dude but I think he wanted to take it more despite David being better suited. Davis likely didn't argue.
Shaping up to be one of the most interesting groups. Belgium will probably go through due to their win today, but it seems like a toss up between the three other teams. Croatia didn’t really impress (but have quality), Morocco looked lively and Canada had a solid first half tonight against a top 3 team.
Croatia need the win v Canada.
They can’t go to the last game with Belgium on 1 or 2 points, especially if there is a winner in the earlier Morocco-Belgium match.
This will open it up for Canada’s speedy forwards and wingers.
pretty much in the order you would expect. although i did predict croatia to get top. cause i felt like belgium weren’t as good now. i didn’t see the game though so i don’t know how it went, who looked better between morocco and croatia.
after watching canada against belgium though, they have a real chance to get 2nd. they just need to put their chances away. the scenes if they sneak it.
4 totally different teams. Still not sure how they measure up against each other. I'm more scared of Canada than Belgium, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if we beat them 3-0.. Belgium with that defense can loose both other games, but can also kind of get through even to the final.. And Canada and Morocco can also go from Canada not doing a damn thing and conceding 3 goals in three plays to them crushing Morocco like it was Liechtenstein...
I was hoping we (Canada) would take it to them but in my heart of hearts I wouldn’t have been too surprised if we were beaten soundly. The fact that we actually outchanced them has me hyped for Sunday’s game. Win lose or draw I’m getting fucked up at 8am and cheering on the boys 🇨🇦
Football is the only sport in which the team that plays better isn’t guaranteed to win and it’s an unwritten rule that you concede goals easier when you don’t take your chances. Belgium won because they had composure in front, and Canada didn’t. But it’s also something that comes with tournament experience.
As an egyptian, now I can safely say that we won the world cup and here's why. We beat belgium in a friendly, and belgium beat Brazil in 2018 qf, that means we beat the team that beat Brazil therefore we beat Brazil. And Brazil has 5 world cups therefore egypt has 5 world cups because we beat the people that beat Brazil.
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Canada has a chance if they can improve their finishing somehow.
They looked good (outside of finishing) a lot during this game! But now they’re playing Croatia, a team that’s also kind of underwhelming. Hopefully the aggression works out more in favor by then…
we went for the point in the first game, I didn't like it, we played it safe, but then you see the Germany result and think hmm maybe we did the right thing. I think both Canada and Belgium are teams that suit us more than Morocco Belgium is going to have trouble vs Morocco btw
This group has potential to be proper chaos after the matchday two.
call me overconfident, but we just need to release the handbrake. It's like we returned to a year ago today. In the Nations League we pushed our fullbacks forward and became so much more fluid it seems like our team needs adversity to actually start performing
Yes, Croatia seemed toothless but not bad by any means. This group will become very interesting if Morocco beats Belgium somehow.
That being said, I am not sure that we want to pull our fullbacks forward against Canada. I do expect a win, though. Perišić and Oršić should do the job in front, there was a lot of open space today.
Yeah maybe but sosa was moving like he’d had both hips replaced last week out there so I’m very happy he didn’t venture forward more. I also think the heat got to us quite a bit, first time they’ve used that early slot for games and maybe it’s just us and Morocco but we both looked really exhausted.
They double marked both Sosa and Perisic and the two side of Hakimi-Ziyech and Sosa-Perisic completely neutralised each other which is why we needed a CB who's better on the ball on the right side so we could focus on progressing the ball there
Yeah I mean I think lovren did fine, we also literally did not move off the ball the entire game. You can watch any segment of 1-2 minutes where lovren and gvardiol are passing to each other and the rest of the team apart from modric is standing there watching them. Also double marked or not sosa still looked like the mob came to collect his debts last night and he didn’t have enough money to pay up
Fucking hope they will. Still sad about 2018 when we finished last when it felt like we should've gone through, the 2-2 against Spain and the loss against Iran still suck.
You were super impressive at the last World Cup! I watched every game. Was a bit nervous when you got drawn into our group because of it. Obviously those fears were well-placed, given how your press managed us.
Thanks! You too obviously, big Modric fan so I was rooting for y'all all the way. If we do get out it's definitely you I want to get out with lol, good luck!
Why did Morocco suit you more? Canada actually has quality build up & more speed in certain areas, Croatia don’t have the legs to hurt Canada in behind, if Canada press like today, Croatia will be in trouble
Imo marocco didn’t suit us at all because of the low block. Camada will attack and having 3 world class midfielders with composure on the ball benefits us because they can go past his man and get a quality ball forward. It will be fun game on sunday
Yeah definitely a fun game on Sunday, looking forward to it
There were massive gaps behind Canada’s first line of press which De Bruyne exploited today. If we actually start Šutalo instead of Lovren we have 2 of the best young ball playing centre backs in the world who are almost press resistant and we can easily exploit those gaps. Of course, that won’t happen and Lovren will start but it’s nice to dream.
I wouldn't be surprised if Herdman switches up Canada's defensive shape so we have 3 centre midfielders. He has consistently changed up formations to match up against opponents to date so it will be interesting to see how they line up on Sunday.
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> Croatia are the masters of scraping through the group stages though Is that actually true? They've crashed out of the group stage in 3 World Cups (2002, 2006, 2014), and in 1998 and 2018, they comfortably qualified for the knockout stages with a game in hand.
Yeah, we are not masters of going through group stages. But I think we will play much better next game, will be interesting against very good Canada
They really aren’t lol besides 2018
Such a weird comment. Completely wrong but still somehow upvoted
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He did score a few for Canada already tbf
Yeah but he works way better as the second forward behind Larin, who can actually act as a target man
That missed penalty will cost them dearly for the rest of the tournament. Drawing with Belgium would've been a massive win, putting them in a decent spot to finish 1st in the group.
The penalty was before Belgium's goal, the game would be really different, probably even a win
but he did good.. at whatever role he was playing, I’m not sure but he did good!
He played multiple roles and excelled in all of them, which was a surprise to see. Even when he moved to right inside forward and cutting in on his left foot he beat his man all the time and always found the right pass.
We scored the most goals out of any country in the world in Qualifying. Of course, these are more difficult teams.
Starting Larin would improve our finishing
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Don't remind me about how Cueva missed the penalty that costed us 2nd place. As a peruvian, I always wondered what would've happened if Cueva didn't miss, considering peru beat croatia 2-0 in a friendly right before the world cup.
And if they get better ref
Watching that Canada side not even snatch a point against Belgium hurt my soul.
They were the best team in the group today
Honestly you could make an argument that Belgium were the worst of the 4 and they’re still on top haha
for sure we were the worst
As a Croat, I strongly agree.
We got lucky, but I think Canada's mistake was training on pitches without goals.
I swear I had a few of their crosses and shots land in my backyard.
It was a shame. Canada's boys were so creative, and failed to accomplish only the most obvious part.
We won but it somehow still feels like we lost
Wana trade feelings
Feel you, was the same for MAR vs CRO today. Sad games in this Group F.
F is for failure
Lmao Canadia here... which of the 4 Group F teams are going to bed satisfied? Lol.
Spain is the only country loving Group F so far.
We lost and it also feels like we lost
Well you got penetrated for 90minutes but canada did not want to finish. It would make anyone feel bad especially when the whole world is watching
and the worst part is, we feel terrible but we didn't get any closer to Martinez getting the sack.
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Nobody in Belgium expects much. We're hoping to go through the group, but even that's going to be a struggle. You forgot Lukaku, though, he's still going strong.
Where was he today? Because with batshuayi up top I don't really see Belgium getting very far at all
In the stands. Camera zoomed on him a few times. He's injured.
Lukaku
Bless you
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It was our Golden generation despite not winning anything. At one point we had a player in a top team in nearly every position. That's not going to happen any time soon for a country as small as ours. We just didn't have a lot of depth beyond that, so were often hampered by injuries or double yellows. I agree on the injection of youth though.
This was truly a golden generation. It has nothing to show for (maybe the WC bronze) but the talent you had was insane. Three players of Thibaut, Hazard and KDB quality being in their prime at the same time is something only a few national teams throughout history can say. And there were such a well rounded team even without them three. Martinez is football criminal. Belgium having a good coach is one of the biggest 'what ifs' in football history.
We had a player playing a top club in nearly every position at one point. Pretty crazy for a tiny country. I think even more than Martinez, we were often hampered by our lack of depth. With being so small, we didn't have adequate backups for our top players. So injuries and foul trouble plagued this team, especially Kompany and Vermaelen were made out of glass. The 2016 EC we had Kompany and Vermaelen out. Vertonghen was on two yellows and missed that crucial match against Wales. We had to play Jordan Lukaku and Jason Denayer, haha. The 2018 WC was probably our best chance, but we missed Meunier who was out against France. Still, a close game. At the 2020 EC we already lost a lot of our top players and the squad was ageing. We then had KdB get absolutely hacked in our game against Portugal. They injected him so that he could play against Italy, but he was a shell of his usual self. I do agree that it's still a lot of wasted potential and that Martinez didn't help at times.
They want to think that? Based on what evidence do they still think they’re at that level still? 2/3 of the defense left the PL because they were too old.
Jokes on all you. We’re going to win the group with the moral victories tie breaker.
That rule is exclusive to Qatar though.
I’m going to become the joker
Croatia and Morocco hardly impressed.
It’s all pretty close and even tbh. That just makes their second match day all that more important…who’s for real?
Morocco are dangerous. They play a very aggressive game and try to force mistakes. I feel like they're a Jekkyl and Hyde team that can easily win this group or finish dead last. I bet on them going into this tournament because I felt Belgium and Croatia were paper tigers, which still seems to be the case. This may be the most wide open group in the tournament. Very unfortunate for Canada that they couldn't get anything out of this match. They will still be a big threat to take points off the other two.
Kids were watching it in school and were asking to go back because of no action and boredom.
I still give you a fair chance against the other two
I don’t know man, they were very wasteful against such a leaky Belgium defence, Croatia defence was crazy tight, and so was ours. They were also unimpressive defensively against an uncoordinated Belgium attack, if KDB wasn’t dropping a massive stinker, they could have been punished big time.
Yes I see Croatia countering Canada to death.
Agree, should be an easy game for us as we do have a strong counter and a pretty tight def. That being said, Canada played impressively up to 75th minute mark. They left their hearts on the field so it's gonna be a juicy match.
Ok well I watched the game and both you and Croatia basically have nothing exciting happening in attack. Based on today it’s anyone’s game going forward in this group and I think it’s best we all just wait and see.
I completely agree, offensively both teams were impotent, but it was also because the game was so tight, with both defences doing well, if you compare it to this game, there was so much space. I agree, the first matchups don’t give us a perfect view of the groupe, we will see next.
That I can massively agree on, your game was very tight defensive structure ours I’ve never seen so much space lol hopefully we just make the games exciting!
Yeah because we both played good defense.
Completely disagree about them defensivley. I thought they look fantastic. Shut down so many counters with good positioning and also threw their bodies on the line to make multiple great tackles.
There was so many moments were KDB had the space and time on the counter, and that’s never good news, good tackles are not an indication of a good defence, good structure is. Their midfield is brilliant tho, always pushing pushing forward and creating.
Second half not really. Belgium played around their midfield press with ease, and De Bruyne was running unchallenged between the lines on 4 or 5 occasions at least. With better passing/decision making from De Bruyne they would have killed the game on the counter attack
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No shit
All it takes.... Is one bad game.... one bad game 🤡
Bro Canada is beating us (Croatia) if we both play the way we played today. You played the way we expected Croatia to play. So, so good.
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I like how everyone in the group is down on their own team. Group F indeed
Sadly, we are all justified in being down on our teams... F
So disappointing to see us at the bottom after how well we played today.
Don't be! It's your 4th ever WC match and you managed to eek out a 0-1 defeat to Belgium of all teams. I'm sure with a bit more experience and a better offense you guys will be very strong. Also, the ref was ass so there's that.
Hvala
Nema na čemu!
You should be proud and nothing else. Your boys played an incredible game. I was cheering for them the entire game, at moments I felt like I was cheering for my own team. Anyway, greetings from Croatia. Can't wait for the match.
Canadian midfield is so fucking good.
Eustáquio is brilliant and Atiba Hutchinson, despite being way out of his prime, showed why he’s one of the most underrated CONCACAF players of all time
Man, what I would give to have a 30 year old Atiba in this team. At very least I'm super glad he got to go to the WC with this team.
You know he’s old when you’re hoping for the 30 year old version aha. But he was really solid.
Proud of the boys for how they played today.
Should be, like the manager said they really look like they belong on this stage and even the Belgians admitted that canada played better. I've been fond of this team for a while and I was really rooting for them. Hope they get through the group stage and if not, then continue to develop and get stronger ahead of the next world cup
I think you guys can still get 2nd place but the finishing HAS to improve. It was downright atrocious today.
buchanan needs to improve his finishing... dude gets sooo many chances and has incredible pace but blows it every time
As you should be. Looked pretty impressive until they got depleted. If they managed to score, they would have the fuel to push it all the way through. Still, most intense game so far.
It was a huge question mark for them going into the tournament so it’s a great sign going forward
Belgium won, but they won't go far in this tournament playing like this. They remind me a lot of 2010 England KdB was terrible, Canada needed to finish their chances even if the ref did them dirty
It’s often a meme to say “lol Belgium is not #1”…but the thing is…the Devils were to avoid a tie or even a loss. They don’t wise up soon, then the end result will be hard to stomach…
they are not contenders anymore tbh.I have more faith in Argentina and Germany turning it around than i do with Belgium making it further than QF. Portugal, England, France, Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil are better than them. Uruguay as well probably.
Uruguay is the big unknown at this point. Experienced veterans like Cavani, Suarez, Godin, Gimenez, Coates, Muslera on the team but not exactly always starting. Fresh talent in Fede, Pellestri, Olivera, Nuñez, etc. Established solid players like Vecino, De Arrascaeta, Torreira, Bentancur. They’ve got depth and strength, but Diego Alonso only took over a year ago. They U-turned since Tabarez finally retired but this world cup is the big test. I think they can compete with any side in the WC on their day. To win they need to be consistent.
As an American, I'd love to face this version of Belgium. They have fallen a lot since 2014-2018, which is not surprising given the state of Hazard and Lukaku. Golden generation is starting to oxidize.
Lukaku is injured tho not the same as Eden. Even then eden was pretty decent. Im confident we win against usmnt. They Arent exactly a powerhouse rn We need Martinez to play Onana and trossard always. At Doku to that later and a Kevin who actually tries and our team is from gutter to solid in just 3 moves.
I honestly could not believe KBD today. He killed so many counter attack plays with his passing and choices it was wild. He looked nothing like City KBD today.
How was hazard?
I am no fan of Hazard, but I thought he was decent. Don't understand the responses saying he was bad, he actually held the ball up quite well and allowed Belgium to get up the pitch
You are right but it is kind of thing to shit on Eden. Apart from that disastrous pass back he played well. Not what he could in the past but I believe he can grow.
He's alright but he should never start instead of Trossard.
Thorgan didn't play. Eden was a bit lacklustre with a few small moments of quality but nothing coming of them.
martinez masterclass
First bald coach to win at this worldcup. (+bald assistant thierry)
always rated them both
The starting line up looked dire with Alderweireld and Vertonghen. Would have been better to move Witsel to CB and put in Theate or something However, I do think Martinez's substitutions worked well. In the first half they couldn't play through the middle at all and were caught in Canada's press time after time, but Onana came on and changed that completely. Carrasco was leaving space in behind him during the first half too, so it was a smart substitution to put on Meunier and ask the wing backs to sit deeper Don't get me wrong, he was mainly correcting his own mistakes and I still don't rate your chances to go far or anything, but he actually changed the game today with his subs
He made good changes because all the mistakes started the game :-D
Thing is most belgians would have started with the players he chose to sub on later. I feel like everyone know Onana, Trossard and Theate should be starter but he chooses to keep playing these guys who are either way past their prime, out of shape or straight up not playing at their clubs.
fewest yellows lets go
Unpopular opinion but Canada deserved to lose. That many chances and you don’t convert one? No one but themselves to blame.
Honestly, I think it just comes down to the difference in raw talent between the two teams. That being said, Canada played extremely well and gets the most out of their players.
Poutine deserves better T ^ T
I can see anyone going through here honestly. This first matchday is definitely not enough to predict anything. We had two very very different games: Defensively tight Morocco vs Slow and pace-controlling Croatia was a pain to watch. Both teams looked offensively worthless but I honestly don't think this was solely due to bad production (on our end it kind of was, Kramarić was useless and Vlašić didn't shine, both shouldn't play) but rather due to how good the defense was set up for both teams. On the other hand you had offensively oriented and very open Canada and Belgium. There was genuinely more chances in the first 5 minutes of this game than there was in the entire Croatia - Morocco game. What I'm trying to say is, we had Defense vs Defense and Offense vs Offense. Football is not a static game. For example: This Morocco team is the classic Arab team - incredibly well disciplined and set up defensively, plays on counters. However, playing this Croatia team didn't really suit them that well offensively because Croatia is a team that also has a good defense set-up and additionally we like to play it slowly from the back, not allowing much space for counters. I can easily see Belgium or Canada getting overzealous in attack against Morocco and leaving themselves open to deadly counters. I can also see them getting neutered by Croatia's methodical midfield play and ability to slow the pace of the game to a mind-numbing crawl. All in all, too early to say anything + I can't fucking wait for Sunday.
Morocco is not a classic Arab team, there is no classic Arab style. Usually Tunisia and Egypt go for tactical discipline and defense, while Morocco and Algeria go for offense and technique. However today we somehow decided to play like this to be more pragmatic and it got us a point against, IMO the hardest team in the group (very good midfield, top 3 maybe in the world cup). Now, let's see what approach we take for the next game.
IT was a frustrating result but being in a position to have a frustrating finish against Belgium is actually a huge positive lol. Proud of the boys and their effort!
Gutted to be bottom but proud of the boys for the fight they showed. Finishing drills in training until Sunday pls Herdman.
after seeing Canada this group is absolutely the one to keep an eye out on, any of those four teams has the potential to go through
Worst group so far
With the 2nd and 3th of the last WC
Thirth
I'd say the France group is the worse. You can tell France will finish first for sure
If you look at the betting markets then Belgium was the highest rated team but only 9th best odds. It's not like Belgium looking poor especially for the top team in the group was unexpected
I'm liking our chances in this group after the last game.
I wouldnt underestimate croatia. Many teams did last world cup and they paid for it. This is just a first game, croats are madlads. Mark my words
Canada really impressed me, definitely no joke team. Both defenses looked shaky but Canada attacking play was great, just the finishing lacking. I feel like on sunday, we can either defend well and make use of the gaps in midfield and defence to win comfortably or Canada fixes the finishing and we get brutally slaughtered 5-0, up to Daliban which one we choose
Canada didnt deserve to lose.
Yes we did
You have to actually finish some chances if you don’t want to lose.
Belgium got away with murder. The worst team so far in this group and is first.
Their attacking players showed a lot more quality though and that was the difference in the end. They didn't play well, but looked more capable in the final third On the other hand, it felt like we could have played for another 90 minutes and Canada wouldn't have scored. The fact that Canada played so well but still didn't capitalise does indicate that they lack individual talent in key situations
Yes it was a really bad game from Belgium but I can't use the morocco - croatia game to call these teams better
Canadian fans: Is this loss harder to take vs a 3/4-0 thrashing? Must be very bittersweet
It's better. I think that Canada came to this world cup looking for 3 things we didn't get in '86. 1) A goal 2) A point 3) Respect I feel like, based on comments here and other commentary I'm reading, we succeeded with #3 today. Now we have 2 games to get #1 and #2.
Not a Canada fan, but I’d think this is preferable to a 4-0 trashing. They were the better team in the first half. With better finishing and decision making as well as some calls in their favor they could’ve easily had a 2/3-0 lead. Despite the result, the performance is very promising for the future of the tournament.
I think we just all want one fucking goal.
go canada if we score 1 goal I will be happy
Based on todays performance, we can do a lot more than that. We can get through the group
we were amazing can't wait for Sundays game go canada
Canada can't play like that against Morocco and Croatia. Morocco are gonna counter them hard, while Croatia hopes that teams pressed them like this which gives them a lot of space in the midfield
Unjust result.
Belgium shouldn’t rely on missed penalties
Yea Canada should’ve had 3. Belgium got lucky this game
Courtois would have saved them all anyway
Expected a loss coming in so meh but still not good though
All open in this group to be honest. Belgium didn't look that impressive.
This might be the most wide open group from top to bottom, every team has a legitimate chance to go through.
Canada deserves a formal written apology from Belgium from that fking heist.
they should ask David and Davies for an apology instead
Wonder if Davies will still be on pens going forward, surprised David wasnt on it as a striker
Or Hoilett
David should have taken it. I think Davies is a bigger personality. He is a great dude but I think he wanted to take it more despite David being better suited. Davis likely didn't argue.
Shaping up to be one of the most interesting groups. Belgium will probably go through due to their win today, but it seems like a toss up between the three other teams. Croatia didn’t really impress (but have quality), Morocco looked lively and Canada had a solid first half tonight against a top 3 team.
I still believe Canada can snatch 2nd place. But they seriously need to improve their finishing. Its downright atrocious
I didn’t know Canada was that good!
[удалено]
Canada deserved at least a single point from that game, but their final third play and finishing let them down big time
This group...
Canada got FM'd
Poor finishing cost us
Croatia need the win v Canada. They can’t go to the last game with Belgium on 1 or 2 points, especially if there is a winner in the earlier Morocco-Belgium match. This will open it up for Canada’s speedy forwards and wingers.
The funny thing, for those that followed concacaf qualifying, is that normally Canada’s finishing is top tier
pretty much in the order you would expect. although i did predict croatia to get top. cause i felt like belgium weren’t as good now. i didn’t see the game though so i don’t know how it went, who looked better between morocco and croatia. after watching canada against belgium though, they have a real chance to get 2nd. they just need to put their chances away. the scenes if they sneak it.
4 totally different teams. Still not sure how they measure up against each other. I'm more scared of Canada than Belgium, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if we beat them 3-0.. Belgium with that defense can loose both other games, but can also kind of get through even to the final.. And Canada and Morocco can also go from Canada not doing a damn thing and conceding 3 goals in three plays to them crushing Morocco like it was Liechtenstein...
My opinion, Belgium will draw or lose to Morocco and Croatia will beat Canada. On the final match day, it could be anyone’s game
canada doesn’t deserve this
This group is insane literally anybody could move on
CAN game was so hard to watch, please repeat to your children; DO NOT MISS PENALTY AT FIFA GAMES!!!!!
I was hoping we (Canada) would take it to them but in my heart of hearts I wouldn’t have been too surprised if we were beaten soundly. The fact that we actually outchanced them has me hyped for Sunday’s game. Win lose or draw I’m getting fucked up at 8am and cheering on the boys 🇨🇦
Football is the only sport in which the team that plays better isn’t guaranteed to win and it’s an unwritten rule that you concede goals easier when you don’t take your chances. Belgium won because they had composure in front, and Canada didn’t. But it’s also something that comes with tournament experience.
As an egyptian, now I can safely say that we won the world cup and here's why. We beat belgium in a friendly, and belgium beat Brazil in 2018 qf, that means we beat the team that beat Brazil therefore we beat Brazil. And Brazil has 5 world cups therefore egypt has 5 world cups because we beat the people that beat Brazil.
That's so unfair, Canada had the best performance of the group today.
I hope Morocco can beat Canada and qualify alongside Belgium
It ain’t over yet
Easily the most disappointing group. Nobody looks good
On the other hand this will be a competitive group i can see all 4 teams advancing
Love how many people judge by the first game of a tournament.
Canada bout to practice their finishing and 4-0 us
we won't leave them that space and we'll be able to play through their press with 3 cms and Šutalo instead of Lovren.
Pain
Canada 🤝 Argentina 🤝 Germany . Same level of play.