Belgium struggled to secure victory in their first game of the World Cup as they were pushed all the way by a superb effort from Canada.
Canada dominated large parts of this Group F game but were ineffective in front of goal, especially when Alphonso Davies saw his first-half penalty saved by Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Courtois also had to save well from Alastair Johnston, but Canada were eliminated against the run of play on the stroke of half-time when Michy Batshuayi collected Toby Alderweireld’s long ball and left-footed Milan Borjan’s pass. Scored a powerful finish.
Jonathan David wasted a wonderful chance to draw Canada level and Courtois also saved from Cille Lauren. Canada were also given a sense of injustice in the first half after two negligible penalty appeals.
Canada continued to push forward in the second half but it was Roberto Martinez’s side that sealed the win, despite a performance that made a mockery of their second position in the world rankings.
“Canada deserved to be better than us the way they played,” Martinez told Match of the Day. “It’s a win and we need to play better and grow.
“This tournament is going to make you grow and develop as the tournament goes on. If you do that by winning games, that’s an incredible advantage.
“We didn’t win with our usual ability and quality on the ball today, but you can’t win at the World Cup if you don’t turn the game around.”
Desperate Belgium ride their luck
Belgium have Canada’s poor finish to thank for the fact that they escaped the fate of Argentina and Germany in suffering World Cup shock.
Martinez has presided over Belgium’s so-called ‘golden generation’ but this aging side, on the evidence of this performance, is past its prime.
Belgium still have outstanding talent in the form of Kevin De Bruyne and a world-class keeper in Courtois, but they looked restless, jaded and woefully underpowered for the pace and energy of Canada’s attacking play.
