The Paper reporter Song Chengliang
The charm of the World Cup is that every game is full of uncertainty.
On November 27, at the Toumama Stadium in Doha, Morocco finally beat Belgium 2-0. After two rounds, Morocco has four points to overtake Belgium and occupy the top spot in the group.
In the first half, Morocco scored from a set-piece, but the referee deemed it offside. In the second half, Morocco again broke the deadlock with a free kick. In stoppage time, Morocco went down to seal the win.
It is worth mentioning that before this match, Belgium had never lost to an African team in the World Cup (3 wins, 1 draw), and all these matches took place in the group stage. Now, their unbeaten run against African teams has been broken.
Morocco changed their goalkeeper in the final minute before the match, and the substitute goalkeeper performed remarkably.
Morocco changed goalkeepers at the last second before kick-off
Belgium made some changes to the lineup in this game, the formation is still 3-4-3, goalkeeper Courtois, Castagnee replaced Dendonker and two veterans Fertonhen and Alderreveld formed a three-centre-back, Hazard Jr. and Munier replaced Carrasco and Castagne as wing-backs, Onana replaced Tilemance and Witsel to form a double back, and the three attackers remained unchanged, De Bruyne, Hazard and Batshuayi.
Belgium had a mediocre performance in the group stage opener, and if it weren't for the penalty awarded by Canada's number one star Alfonso Davis, and the referee's refusal to give Canada a second penalty, Belgium would have been questionable about whether they could have won. Belgium coach Martine has admits the squad are not at their best, revealing that the team has only five training sessions before the first game, which means they are not fully ready.
There was a lot of physical contact between the two sides in the first half.
Martinez said: "I think what you will see is that some teams are ready after playing three group games. For a normal preparation for an event, it takes about three friendly matches and four weeks to achieve the best. This time the teams need to gradually prepare for the cup, which is more dangerous and may cause the team to lose points. ”
Core Kevin De Bruyne had two shots on goal in the first game, one on target, and did not score. In the post-match press conference, "Tintin", who was voted the best player of the match, said that the team's performance could be improved: "We didn't play well enough as a team, including myself. I don't know why I won the best in the field, maybe because of my fame. ”
Before that, Belgium had won eight consecutive World Cup group stage games, equalling Brazil's record. The World Cup group stage winning streak record was set by Brazil, which they did twice in 1986-1994 and 2002-2010.
Neither Eden Hazard nor Kevin De Bruyne had much to show against Morocco.
Morocco drew 0-0 with Croatia, runners-up in the previous World Cup, and coach Regraj was not satisfied with "we have a problem with our counter-attack. Maybe we can play better and intercept the ball more, but I think we were more efficient today when we had the ball on the field. ”
It is worth mentioning that the Moroccan starting lineup was originally goalkeeper Bonu, but the Moroccan goalkeeper has been replaced by Munir when the team is photographed. Byin Sports revealed that Bunu suffered muscle discomfort during the pre-match warm-up and Regragi decided at the last minute to exclude him from the starting line-up.
According to Spanish media reports, Bunu suffered a hip injury before the match and insisted on playing after taking painkillers. However, after the opening, I don't know if it was due to the side effects of the drug, he seemed to feel a little dizzy, and he could also be seen holding his forehead during the national anthem ceremony, and finally could not insist and asked to leave.
Belgium didn't have many threatening chances in the first half.
A blown-off free kick, Morocco can score one more
According to the German transfer market website, Belgium's starting line-up is worth 246.8 million euros, with an average age of 30 years, while Morocco's starting line-up is worth 191.5 million euros and the average age is 27 years old.
On one side is Belgium, which is more expensive and experienced, and on the other hand, Morocco, which is younger and more motivated. The game between the two sides in the first half was evenly divided and competent.
However, from the overall situation, throughout the first half, the game between the two sides was still calm. In the 23rd minute of the game, Courtois swung past the opposing striker in the own penalty area, a small climax came in stoppage time, in the 46th minute, Morocco won a free kick on the right side of the front, Ziyech directly sent the ball into the goal, the referee personally watched the VAR and ruled that the attacking player was offside to interfere with the goalkeeper, and the goal was invalidated.
Morocco's goal in first-half stoppage time was ultimately disallowed.
Commenting after the first half, the BBC said: "Morocco had no shots on goal in the last 30 minutes against Croatia and they only had one shot on goal in the first 20 minutes of this game. They naturally retreat deep and look organised, but, if they want something out of this game – and end up coming out of Group F – they definitely have to do something at the other end of the pitch. ”
In the first half, the two teams were tied 0-0, which was the 14th half-time match of this World Cup.
Although Belgium is the highest in world rankings and fan popularity, Moroccan fans are everywhere at the Toumama Stadium. According to the live media, the match was like a home game for Morocco - when Belgium had the ball, the fans did not stop whistling.
Former England international Jenas quipped on social media: "When Belgium has the ball, you can hear Moroccan fans whistling constantly. The best way to keep them quiet is to control the ball. ”
Belgium's Onana received a yellow card.
In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Morocco took the initiative. In the 51st minute of the game, Eden Hazard's sharp breakthrough from the wing was a threatening long-range shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. Morocco then counter-attacked, Buffaneche shot hard, Courtois failed to touch, and the ball grazed the post.
Belgium, on the other hand, found a respite after a while of straining on the defensive.
At that time, Ireland's famous Dublin commented on social networks: "The number of unpopular people in this World Cup is very large. You hope Belgium will win this game easily, but at the moment they are finding it difficult to beat Morocco. ”
Sabiri broke the deadlock for Morocco.
Morocco's efforts paid off after 70 minutes. In the 73rd minute of the game, Sabiri's small-angle free-kick hit the near corner, Courtois was saved by the interference of the attacking player, and the first free kick of this World Cup was born directly. Morocco leads Belgium 1-0.
Belgium then replaced the injured Romelu Lukaku, who also had a chance to score, but both missed the score.
In stoppage time, Morocco went down to seal the win.
In the end, world No. 22 Morocco finished the match and defeated world No. 2 Belgium. At this point, Morocco, who have scored four points from two rounds, have made qualifying for Group F, which has Belgium and Croatia, a bit confusing.
Editor of this issue is Zhou Xiaojing