The Belgian national team survived the ambush of its Canadian counterpart, after it narrowly defeated it with a goal without a response, with Canada missing a penalty kick in the first minutes of the match that brought the two teams together on the grounds of Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, in Group F of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In a surprising scenario, the Canadian national team entered the match, taking the initiative to attack and possessing the ball from the start, while the Belgians seemed completely unable to keep up with the rhythm and speed of Alfonso Davis' teammates.
In the first 10 minutes of the match, the Canadian national team created 8 real attempts to score, more than the total number of attempts it achieved in the three matches it played in its only participation in the World Cup, during the 1986 Mexico version.
The Canadians' terrible pressure put Belgium's defense on hold, so that the North American representative won a penalty kick in the 11th minute, but Davis, Bayern Munich's star, failed to convert it into a goal, after a wonderful save from the best goalkeeper in the world in 2022, Thibaut Courtois, to deny Canada a chance. Scoring her first goal in the history of the World Cup.
Courtois shines and saves # Belgium after saving a penalty against # Canada # Qatar 2022 # World Cup_Qatar_2022 # Channels_Al-Kass # Qatar2022 # FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/EDIJYYYFCo
- Al-Kass channels (@alkasschannel) November 23, 2022
The Canadian national team continued to put pressure on Belgium and was the strongest party on the green rectangle, as it demanded on two occasions two penalties, but the Zambian referee, Gianni Sikazwe, refused to respond.
And at a time when everyone thought that the first half of the match would end, as it began, without goals, Belgium managed to open the scoring, through striker Michy Batshuayi, in the 44th minute, so that the first round ended, with the progress of Kevin De Bruyne's colleagues, with a goal without a response.
The Belgium national team is ahead of Canada by a goal before the end of the first half # Qatar 2022 # World_Cup_Qatar_2022 # Qanawat_Al-Kass # Qatar2022 # FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/JlLZcZCTab
- Al-Kass channels (@alkasschannel) November 23, 2022
The beginning of the second round was not much different from the previous one, as the Canadians took the initiative to attack and were the most dangerous on the field, while the Belgians parked behind, relying on counterattacks, one of which almost hit the net in the 66th minute by Batshuayi, had it not been for the intervention of the defense.
While the attempts of the North American representatives found in the last minutes of the meeting time, a strong defense and a remarkable brilliance of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The match ended with the victory of the "Red Devils" with a goal without a response and lead their group with 3 points, two points ahead of Morocco and Croatia, who tied earlier without goals.