LIVE BLOG: Fifa World Cup, Day 4 – Belgium win after Thibaut Courtois thwarts spirited Canada
Welcome to day 4 of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. IOL Sport will bring you all the live updates on match days from the biggest sports event on the planet!
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FULL TIME: Belgium 1, Canada 0
Michy Batshuayi’s lone first half strike was enough to see Belgium claim all three points from their clash against Canada on Wednesday evening.
The @BelRedDevils are at the top of the Group F table 🔝#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
HALF TIME: Belgium 1, Canada 0
Canada have been the better side for much of their World Cup clash, but they trail 1-0 thanks to a 44th minute Michy Batshuayi goal.
🇧🇪 Michy Batshuayi's strike gives Belgium the lead going into the break #FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
UP NEXT: Belgium vs Canada
Belgium’s ageing golden generation will hope to get their World Cup campaign up and running with a positive result when they face Canada, who are making their first appearance in the competition since 1986.
The line-ups for 🇧🇪🆚🇨🇦#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
Belgium (3-5-2): Thibaut Courtois; Leander Dendoncker, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen; Yannick Carrasco, Youri Tielemans, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Timothy Castagne; Eden Hazard (capt), Michy Batshuayi
Coach: Roberto Martinez
Canada (3-4-3): Milan Borjan; Alistair Johnston, Kamal Miller, Steven Vitoria; Junior Hoilett, Stephen Eustaquio, Atiba Hutchinson (capt), Richie Laryea; Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies
Coach: John Herdman
FULL TIME: Spain 7, Costa Rica 0
Spain were too good for Costa Rica in their World Cup on Wednesday as they scored seven goals to record the biggest win of the Qatar tournament so far.
The perfect start for Spain 🇪🇸@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
HALF TIME: Spain 3, Costa Rica 0
Three first half goals has 2010 World Cup winner Spain in a comfortable position at half time of their clash against Qatar on Wednesday.
🇪🇸 Spain take a commanding lead going into the break#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
FULL TIME: Germany 1, Japan 2
Japan scored two goals in quick succession as they came from behind to claim a famous World Cup win over Germany, who were seeking redemption after a poor 2018 campaign in Russia.
Japan beat Germany.@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
HALF TIME: Germany 1, Japan 0
Germany take a 1-0 lead into the break thanks to a 33rd minute penalty by Ilkay Gundogan. The Germans thought they had scored again on the stroke of halt-time, but Kai Havertz’ strike was ruled out after the Chelsea man had strayed into an offside position.
Germany lead after the first half.#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
HERE ARE THE TEAMS FOR GERMANY V JAPAN
Germany
Manuel Neuer (capt); Niklas Suele, Nico Schlotterbeck, Antonio Ruediger, David Raum; Joshua Kimmich, Ilkay Guendogan; Serge Gnabry, Thomas Mueller, Jamal Musiala; Kai Havertz
Japan
Shuichi Gonda; Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida (capt), Kou Itakura, Yuto Nagatomo; Wataru Endo, Ao Tanaka; Junya Ito, Daichi Kamada, Takefusa Kubo; Daizen Maeda
Full time: Morocco 0-0 Croatia
Try as they might, neither team were able to find a breakthrough strike as Morocco and Croatia were forced to settle for a point each. The Romain Saiss-led Morocco team will next face Belgium on Sunday, while Croatia will take on Canada on the same day.
Halftime: Morocco 0-0 Croatia
It’s been a competitive 45 minutes from both teams. Hakim Ziyech was the stand-out player for Morocco. The 2018 World Cup finalist Croatia had the best chances of the game late in the first half. Nikola Vlasic’s effort was saved, and not long after Luka Modric blasted a lose ball over bar.
HERE ARE THE TEAMS FOR MOROCCO V CROATIA
Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech starts on the right of a three-man attack for Morocco in their opening game of the World Cup against 2018 runners-up Croatia in Qatar. Ziyech only returned to the Morocco squad in September after more than a year out following a dispute with former coach Vahid Halilhodzic.
Morocco
Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saiss (capt), Noussair Mazraoui; Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Selim Amallah; Hakim Ziyech, Sofiane Boufal, Youssef En-Nesyri
Croatia captain Luka Modric is among four players who started the 2018 final defeat by France in Moscow. Dejan Lovren, Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic are also in the line-up for Zlatko Dalic's side.
Croatia
Dominik Livakovic; Josip Juranovic, Dejan Lovren, Josko Gvardiol, Borna Sosa; Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric (capt), Marcelo Brozovic; Nikola Vlasic, Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric
12pm: Morocco vs Croatia
Croatia went all the way to the final four years ago, ultimately losing to France in Russia. This has raised the profile of Croatia and they are regarded as a formidable team. Not many of the 2018 squad have managed to retain their places in the 2022 squad in Qatar.
Croatia will be the favourites because they have so much quality at both ends of the pitch. Morocco, however, shouldn’t be underestimated. Morocco struggles to score, so scoring should be low.
Despite the quality in their squad, Morocco are somewhat of an unknown quantity, and like Croatia, have shown terrific form in matches over the past few months. Morocco have also been in a goalscoring mood in matches this year.
Players to watch:
Morocco: Romain Saiss (centre-back), Achraf Hakimi (right-wingback), Sofyan Amrabat (midfielder)
Croatia: Ivan Perisic (winger/wingback), Marcelo Brozovic (central midfielder), Mario Pasalic (attacking midfielder)
Head-to-head record
In their only previous encounter, in the semi-finals of the 1996 Hassan II Trophy, Croatia prevailed 7-6 on penalties after the match ended 2-all.
3pm: Germany v Japan
Germany are four-time World Cup winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) and have reached at least the semi-finals at four of the five tournaments since the start of this century. That is more semi-final appearances than any other nation over this period.
Japan's Samurai Blue have plenty of experience on the global stage, appearing at a seventh straight finals tournament. However, they have never advanced to the second round at consecutive editions.
Japan finished behind Saudi Arabia in second place in their World Cup qualification campaign and have been inconsistent over the past year. The Asian giants slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Canada last week and will need to bounce back in this fixture.
Players to watch:
Germany: Manuel Neuer (goalkeeper), Antonio Rudiger (centre-back), Joshua Kimmich (defensive midfielder)
Japan: Takumi Minamino (forward), Daichi Kamada (attacking midfielder), Takefusa Kubo (attacking midfielder)
Head-to-head record
Germany and Japan have faced each other twice, both in friendlies. Germany won once and the other ended in a draw.
6pm: Spain v Costa Rica
Spain, the 2010 World Cup winners, remain one of the superpowers on the global stage. To date, they have qualified for 12 consecutive World Cup finals. Since the turn of the century, the Spaniards have finished top of their respective World Cup group four times in five tournaments.
Costa Rica are quite capable of causing upsets and they demonstrated this in 2014 when they pipped powerhouses like England, Italy and Uruguay and topped their group. However, their current squad have had a poor run in the past few months, mainly because of a lack of firepower upfront.
Spain and Costa Rica are joined by Germany and Japan in this group, and experts are divided on who will advance to the next stage. Spain will be expected to defeat Costa Rica but their big test will be against Germany. Costa Rica, by virtue of its world ranking, are expected to finish rock bottom in this interesting-looking group.
Players to watch:
Spain: Unai Simon (goalkeeper), Aymeric Laporte (defender), Ferran Torres (forward)
Costa Rica: Joel Campbell (forward), Celso Borges (midfielder), Jewison Bennette (forward)
Head-to-head record
Spain have won two of the three encounters and the other ended in a draw.
9pm: Belgium v Canada
In the past two editions of the World Cup Belgium has been a force to be reckoned with. In March 2022, Belgium was still ranked as the world's No 1 team and opponents will be mindful of this.
Belgium, the current world No 2, suffered a heavy blow after an injury to their talismanic striker Romelu Lukaku, who has been central to their success in recent years.
Canada have nothing to lose and will be making only their second appearance at the World Cup finals in 36 years. The Canadians exceeded expectations in the qualifying and finished ahead of the United States and Mexico. The team has arrived in Qatar high on confidence.
Players to watch: Belgium: Jan Vertonghen (centre-back), Axel Witsel (midfielder), Kevin De Bruyne (midfielder)
Canada: Stephen Eustaquio (defensive midfielder), Tajon Buchanan (right-winger), Alphonso Davies (left-sided attacking midfielder)
Head-to-head record
Belgium have faced Canada once before and won that game.
Our very own 2010 World Cup hero Siphiwe Tshabalala has given has given his prediction for the last game of today when Belgium take on Canada.
Tshabalala feel the game is going to be goal fest but it will end in a draw ...
Some wholesome World Cup content ... African soccer great George Weah had nothing but praise for his son Timothy who scored the USA’s first goal against Wales on Sunday. He was indeed, a proud dad!
Just had dinner with my son Timothy Weah. Proud daddy. pic.twitter.com/Jrx2vT3iAa
— George Weah (@GeorgeWeahOff) November 22, 2022
Eish, now I know after seeing Herve’ Renard’s success with Saudi Arabia, our own SA football fans have a tinge of disappointment seeing the ‘White Shirt’ doing all the things against Argentina.
Congratulations to the team and the staff for this game, I dedicate this victory to the Saudi people. We are waiting for your support next match! 🇸🇦🦅💚#HervéRenard #SaudiArabia #WorldCup #Alhamdulilah pic.twitter.com/FOUts999gr
— Hervé Renard (@Herve_Renard_HR) November 22, 2022
What a day day three turned out to be!
It all started with lots of promise for Lionel Messi who got his World Cup quest under way but things slowly went south for the ‘GOAT’ and his team. Saudi Arabia pulled one the greatest wins of the competition’s history as Hervé Renard guided his side to a 2-1 win over one of the tournament favourites.
Understandably with all that’s at stake Messi said the defeat was a 'very heavy blow'
Lionel Messi: "There are no excuses. We have to be more united than ever. This group is strong and has shown it. It's a situation we haven't gone through in a long time. Now we have to show that this is a real group." 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/bfw3b4r1v2
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) November 22, 2022
The win meant so much to Saudi Arabia their king declared Wednesday a public holiday!
Us Bafana Bafana fans will have to wait a long time for a public holiday …
France meanwhile, managed to come back from an early scare and beat Australia 4-1. IOL Sport’s Eshlin Vedan says one of things we did learn from the World Champions victory is that Olivier Giroud can actually score in a world cup ...
Olivier Giroud equals Henry as France all time topscorer: 51 goals.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 22, 2022
He’s still doing incredible also with AC Milan as he scored 22 goals in 55 total apps, winning Serie A title.
Milan invested less than €2m to sign him in 2021. New deal to be discussed soon.
Special player 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/b5Ax8PbE8X
Here’s our Live Blog from Tuesday, in a day that turned out to be action packed.
IOL Sport