Belgium beat Canada 1-0 in FIFA World Cup 2022. Canada were presented with a glorious chance to take the lead on 10 minutes after a Tajon Buchanan strike hit the arm of Yannick Carrasco in the box, but Davies saw his tame effort saved by Thibaut Courtois. Belgium go top of Group F after their opening game, ahead of Croatia and Morocco who played out a goalless draw earlier in the day.
Belgium beat Canada 1-0 | FIFA World Cup 2022
| Belgium | Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| 0.76 | Expected Goals (xG) | 2.61 |
| 9 | Total shots | 22 |
| 1 | Big chances | 3 |
| 0 | Big chances missed | 3 |
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez said:
“It was such a difficult game. Canada were better than us in what we wanted to do. They have a lot of pace and directness, and to be fair we had to show another side to our play.
“I’m delighted because we won the game through grit and experience, and the quality of our goalkeeper that can keep you in a game with a penalty save. The victory for me is more important than when you play well.
“Canada deserved to be better than us in the way they approached their performance. But in the end the result reflects what we had to do and the way we defended for each other, and we took our chance.
“You’ve seen many top teams losing games and in this tournament you develop and grow as they go in. If you do that by winning games it’s an incredible advantage. We didn’t play well, that’s clear, but we need to be realistic and appreciate the win. When a team can win a game without playing well it’s a lot to build on.”
Canada boss John Herdman said:
“I’m proud of the performance, but you need to take three points in your first game. We had an opportunity tonight to go top of the group, that was the mission and we missed it.
“As I said these lads put in a shift, they showed they can live on this stage and they made the fans proud. They feel they can belong here, that was the message for us.
“We’re going to go against Croatia, that’s our mission now. I told them I lost my first game at London 2012 [in charge of Canada’s women] and we went on to win a medal. It’s how we respond now. With that belief, and if we keep the brotherhood tight, we’ve got a chance.”
