Romelu Lukaku missed three excellent opportunities in a goalless draw that eliminated Belgium from the World Cup 2022 and advanced Croatia as the second-place team in Group F behind Morocco.
Belgium knew they needed to win to advance from their group after starting in third position, but despite finishing third in Russia 2018 and being placed second in the FIFA rankings, they were unable to force a victory and failed to advance for the first time since 1998.
Ivan Perisic’s errant effort from the opening kickoff nearly ended Belgium’s already tenuous prospects for victory within the first 10 seconds, but the team later produced two opportunities of their own. In order to stop Yannick Carrasco’s shot before Dries Mertens blasted over Kevin De Bruyne’s assist, Dominik Livakovic sprinted off his line.
However, Croatia appeared to be the more threatening team and believed they had been given a penalty when Carrasco knocked Andrej Kramaric to the ground. However, the verdict was overturned for offside following a thorough VAR review.
Belgium thought they were going home when Morocco defeated Canada and Roberto Martinez added Lukaku at halftime. Following a brief Belgium surge, Thibaut Courtois made quick saves from Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, and Luka Modric to keep Croatia looking like the team most likely to force a breakthrough.
De Bruyne’s pass sent Carraso racing into the penalty area as Belgium’s need grew more urgent. Despite Josip Juranovic’s excellent block, the ball broke for Lukaku, whose shot missed the post. The goal was then at the substitute’s disposal, but replays appeared to show the ball had already left the field of play.
As Belgium’s time ran out and a slew of forward players were added, Thomas Meunier’s furious effort deflected wide off Lukaku who then failed to turn in Thorgan Hazard’s cross, and with that, Belgium’s last chance had passed.