Belgium will look to make it 2 wins from 2 in their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign, but could face some difficulty against a resilient Moroccan defence. Indeed, the Atlas Lions had suffocated Croatia’s attackers to just 5 shots across the 90, despite their then opponents have two thirds of the ball.
To Win Match
Belgium 10/11 | Draw 9/4 | Morocco 3/1
With heavyweights Argentina and Germany being handed opening day defeats, Belgium came away with a scrappy 1 nil win over Canada. It must be said that the Canadians got off to a flyer, with shot stopper Thibaut Courtois keeping the Red Devils in the game thanks to his first half penalty save. Roberto Martinez has presided over Belgium’s so-called “Golden Generation,” but this ageing team may have passed their prime, if that fixture was anything to go by. Although with a star studded eleven, Belgium where left wanting for most of the 90. The defensive pairing of 33-year-old Alderweireld and 35-year-old Jan Vertonghen has excelled for both nation and clubs, but portions of their performance had a sense of desperation with the duo simply unable to handle Canada’s speed and ferocity, which is concerning ahead of their bout with Morocco. Michy Batshuayi stood head and shoulders above his teammates. The forward continued his rich vein of form, bagging a goal from his 5 shots during his runout. Keep an eye out for him in this one!
Croatia, who is ranked 12th in the world according to Fifa, dominated possession as they would have expected, but they were unable to generate chances or overcome Morocco, which has only lost twice in their last 40 games over the course of three years. The best opportunity of a game with only two shots on goal from each team came in first-half stoppage time when Vlasic, a West Ham midfielder on loan at Torino, diverted a left-wing cross towards goal, but the midfielder was stopped by the right leg of Yassine Bounou, who spread himself to close down the angle. When Noussair Mazraoui followed in a deflected shot and saw a back-post header saved, Morocco, who are rated 22nd, came the closest. PSG’s Achraf Hakimi also tested the Croatian defence with a swerving 35 yard strike – but to no avail. There wasn’t much to split the sides on the day, but one thing is for certain – the Atlas Lions need to start finding the back of the net if they are to have any chance of progressing. Indeed, the African nation have failed to score in 9 of their 17 World Cup.
Verdict: Belgium win (10/11)
Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s main striker, may be back in contention and his presence may jumpstart a tired-looking squad. With head coach Martinez under pressure to lead this side to victory (since being appointed back in 2016), he will be glad to leave this game with three points and I think he will do enough in this one.
