Belgium vs. Morocco final score, result (World Cup 2022): the next shock, the failure of Belgium's not-so-golden oldies

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On November 27, the highest ranked team in Europe received a 0-2 defeat against Morocco in Group E of the 2022 World Cup. De Bruyne and his teammates had a forgettable match.

At the 68th minute, Abdelhamid Sabiri came on from the bench. At the first opportunity in the 73rd minute, the former Huddersfield player made the difference with a free kick from close to the corner. The ball was going at such a high speed that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was unable to save it.

This was the beginning of Belgium's nightmare. The second-place team in the world speeded up the match. They also allowed Romelu Lukaku to go on the field, but he could not score and then had to pay the price with a second goal in the 90+2 minute. From the horizontal stretch of Hakim Ziyech, Zakaria Aboukhlal finished with one touch, setting up a 2-0 victory for the North African representative.

In terms of place on the FIFA rankings, Morocco's victory can be considered as a surprise. However, if you look at what happened on the field, Belgium deserved to lose the match.

They were short on ideas when attacking. The most notable opportunity for the European representative came right in the 5th minute, but Michy Batshuayi could not beat goalkeeper Munir in the face-to-face opportunity. During the rest of the game, fans witnessed a Belgian team that played poorly.

De Bruyne –one of the most attacking midfielders in the world also disappoint. He can not predict Batshuayi's moves. On both sides, the Hazard brothers constantly had cumbersome handling phases that led to the loss of the ball.

Even Courtois, the best goalkeeper in the world in 2022, has had a bad day. Late in the first half, he was beaten by Ziyech with a free-kick but was saved by VAR by detecting an offside Morocco player. In the second encounter with Sabiri's free kick, the Real goalkeeper did not learn his lesson, continued to make mistakes in position, and let the ball drift past his hand and into the net.

Romelu Lukaku came on but also showed a bad performace. Jumping has become difficult for a player who has not played a minute since October 29. The match at Al Thumama Stadium ended with a 2-0 victory for Morocco. In the final match, Belgium will face a tough challenge from the reigning World Cup runner-up, Croatia.

Will Belgium have a chance to go to the next round after losing to Morocco?

After two matches in Group F, Belgium ranked 3rd with 3 points and the goal difference is -1 when they won against Canada but lost to Morocco. In the final round, Kevin De Bruyne and his teammates faced the top team, Croatia, and Morocco met Canada.

If they beat Croatia, Belgium will enter the round of 16 regardless of the outcome of the other match. At that time, they had 6 points, definitely better than Croatia (4 points) and Canada (maximum 3 points).

If they draw with Croatia, Belgium will have four points. At this point, they will have to wait the result of other match.

If Morocco has at least 1 point against Canada, they will have 5 points and Belgium is eliminated.

If Morocco loses to Canada, Belgium and Morocco will have the same 4 points. At the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, if the two teams are equal on points, the order of priority in ranking is goal difference, number of goals scored, head-to-head record, goals in head-to-head match, and fair-play score.

The goal difference of Belgium before the last match was -1, while that of Morocco was +2. Because Belgium lost to Morocco, Belgium needs a better goal difference. In order for coach Roberto Martinez's army to continue, Canada must defeat the African team by a margin of four goals or more. This is an unlikely scenario.

If they lose to Croatia, Belgium will be eliminated.

If Belgium wants to decide their own fate, they must win against Croatia. In the past, the two teams have met eight times. The head-to-head results of Belgium and Croatia are very balanced, with each team winning three matches and drawing two.