Belgium vs. Canada: Belgium beat Canada 1-0 in their first game of the 2022 World Cup on Wednesday night, despite a crazy storm from Canada.
The CanMNT played their first World Cup game in 36 years. From the first whistle, they pushed and pressured their famous opponents. After some early pressure, they got a penalty for handball in the eighth minute.
Alphonso Davies tried to score Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal, but he could only send a weak shot straight at Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for Belgium.
Canada didn’t give up, though. They kept putting pressure on Belgium, forcing them to make mistakes and giving Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan many chances to score.
But Canada’s poor finishing cost them right before halftime when Michy Batshuayi got between two defenders to meet an excellent pass from Toby Alderweireld and then put the ball past goalkeeper Milan Borjan.
Canada lost a bit of steam after halftime and only had a few good moments. Some changes made by Roberto Martinez at halftime helped steady the ship and get the Red Devils over the line.
Still, Canada has shown that they should be taken seriously at just their second World Cup. They have also shown that Belgium has a few weak spots.
Belgium vs Canada player ratings
Belgium (3-4-2-1)
Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper, got a 9/10 because he saved Davies’ penalty and made a couple more huge saves that kept Belgium in the game.
CB: Leander Dendoncker – 6/10 – Even though they were safe with the ball, they had a hard time stopping Canada’s counterattacks.
CB: Toby Alderweireld – 7/10 – Had a few hard times when Davies and David started running at him, but he was great with the ball, especially when he set up the goal.
Jan Vertonghen, the centre-back, got a 5/10 because he was bad with the ball and couldn’t keep up with the other team.
Timothy Castagne, RWB, 4/10 When they tried to defend Alphonso Davies, they looked out of place.
CM: Axel Witsel got a 6/10. He was good with the ball, but he didn’t do much with it.
CM: Youri Tielemans got a 4/10. He wasn’t very good at the game. The Canadian press went after Tielemans over and over again.
LWB: Yannick Carrasco – 5/10 – Was overworked on the left side because Canada kept going after his side. Did the best he could until halftime when he was taken off. dropped the charge.
CAM: Kevin De Bruyne – 3/10 – This is likely one of the worst things De Bruyne has ever done. Bad choices were made. Needs to get better fast for Belgium to have a chance at the World Cup.
CAM: Eden Hazard – 5/10 – He did his best to take the game to Canada, but their athleticism was too much for him to handle.
ST: Michy Batshuayi – 8/10 – As Lukaku’s replacement, he was under a lot of pressure to do well, but he always gave Belgium a way to score. Achieved his goal.
Thomas Meunier replaced Carrasco in the 46th minute. He got a 6/10 for helping to keep the defense steady.
Amadou Onana came on for Tielemans in the 46th minute and made Belgium much safer with the ball.
Leandro Trossard came on for Hazard in the 62nd minute and never got going.
Lois Openda (in place of Batshuayi in the 78th minute): 5/10 Didn’t adapt to how fast the game was going.
Manager: Roberto Martinez – 7/10 – In the first half, I did everything wrong, so I was lucky to be ahead. But has to get credit for the chances at halftime, which ended Canada’s chances.
Canada (3-4-3)
GK: Milan Borjan – 6/10 – Couldn’t change the goal in any way. The rest is solid.
Alistair Johnston: 7/10 (CB) Quickly overcame some early nerves to give a blood-and-thunder performance.
Steven Vitoria, the centre-back, got a 7/10 because he used his experience to stop several Belgian advances. Very steady.
CB: Kamal Miller – 7/10 – Was crying during the Canadian national anthem and brought that passion to the game. At times, he almost lost himself, but he came up with some important challenges.
Richie Laryea gets an 8/10 from RWB. Was a danger on Canada’s right side the whole game? Belgium couldn’t cope. Four chances were made.
Atiba Hutchinson: 7 out of 10 The 39-year-first old’s World Cup game, which was also his 99th cap, was a great moment. rose to the challenge by playing the ball like ice.
CM: Stephen Eustaquio – 8/10 – The man from Porto gave a performance that was perfectly balanced. He was both creative and destructive, but he also kept his cool.
Alphonso Davies, LWB, 7/10: Marked down for his bad penalty. Didn’t let that hurt his confidence, though, because Davies was always turning the Belgian defense inside out. The best in the world.
RW: Taejon Buchanan – 7/10 – The man who used to be in the New England Revolution gave a really good performance. Used his speed and skill to the fullest and made a lot of chances for his team. But he did miss a few good ones himself.
ST: Jonathan David – 6 out of 10 – A player of his skill level should have scored at least one goal, if not more, in this game. Can’t be too harsh on him, though, because he worked the Belgium defenders so hard.
LW: Junior Hoilett is 7/10. Didn’t get the ball very often, but when he did, he made it count by making two chances with just four good passes. Belgium worked hard when they had it.
Cyle Larin took over for Hoilett in the 58th minute. He got a free header but missed a good chance.
Ismael Kone, who came in for Hutchinson in the 58th minute and got a score of 6/10, showed a lot of maturity for his age. It’s easy to see why Europeans are interested in him.
Sam Adekugbe came in for Laryea in the 74th minute and picked up where Laryea left off (7/10).
Liam Millar came on for Buchanan in the 81st minute. Tried to make things happen, but he never found his range.
Jonathan Osorio (in place of Eustaquio in the 81st minute): 6/10. Did a good job, but didn’t have enough time to make a big difference.
Manager: John Herdman, 8/10: Used a well-planned and perfectly executed press to take advantage of Belgium’s weak spots. Had a lot more to offer in this game, but in the second half, they just ran out of ideas.
Stephen Eustaquio was the best player of the game (Canada)
