Croatia 0-0 Belgium: Red Devils eliminated in group stage

Belgium were eliminated from the World Cup in the group stage after drawing 0-0 with Croatia at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Thursday.

Morocco's 2-1 victory over Canada elsewhere in Group F meant Belgium had to win to advance to the last 16, while Croatia needed to avoid defeat.

A low-quality first half, in which the only talking point was an overturned Croatia penalty, made way for a far more gripping second period.

Romelu Lukaku was brought on at half-time and wasted a few big chances, hitting the post from one of them but the match finished goalless as Belgium suffered a shock exit. 

Belgium were given an early reprieve when a penalty awarded for Yannick Carrasco's challenge on Andrej Kramaric was overturned for offside against Dejan Lovren in the build-up as Luka Modric was lining up to take it.

The arrival of Lukaku coincided with the game finally coming to life, the Inter striker forcing Dominik Livakovic into the first save of the contest a little over three minutes after coming on.

That in turn sparked Croatia into life and Thibaut Courtois — on his 100th cap — made three saves in the space of four minutes to deny midfield trio Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric.

Lukaku then hit the post with plenty of the net to aim for after Carrasco's blocked shot fell nicely in his path, before heading over from close range with the goal again gaping — though VAR may have intervened even if he had scored.

The biggest miss was still to come as Lukaku failed to help the ball over the line from a couple of yards when Thorgan Hazard's cross was missed by Lovren, meaning elimination for Belgium and a second-place finish behind Morocco for Croatia.

What does it mean? End of the road for 'Golden Generation'?

Belgium underwhelmed in their first two games in Qatar — a 1-0 win over Canada and a 2-0 loss to Morocco — and while they looked a lot better against Croatia, the world's number-two ranked side could not find the goal they needed.

Having been talked up as one of the favourites for numerous tournaments over the past decade, many members of the Red Devils' ageing squad have surely now reached the end of the road, with this only the second time in eight attempts they have not got out of the group stage.

Croatia, runners-up in 2018, had to ride their luck in a game in which they had an expected goals (xG) return of 0.70 compared to 3.06 for their opponents, though it is they who advance to the last 16, where the winners of Spain and Germany's group await.

Lukaku sums up Belgium's frustrations

Having only managed 54 minutes across Belgium's first two matches as he battled his way back to fitness, it was clear after being brought on at half-time that Lukaku was still lacking match sharpness.

The 29-year-old hit the post and missed two more great openings from his total of five shots. Belgium's tally of 16 shots, meanwhile, was their most without scoring in a group stage match at the World Cup since 1994 (25 against Saudi Arabia).

Dalic's side hold on

Croatia would have preferred to have found a winner to finish above Morocco and thus set up what should be a more favourable last-16 tie but head coach Zlatko Dalic will simply be grateful to have advanced come full-time.

Livakovic made three saves, while Josko Gvardiol, a player linked with a number of Europe's top clubs, was solid at the back as he made a game-high nine clearances — only three others have made more in a match this tournament.

Key Opta Facts:

After failing to reach the knockout stage in three consecutive participations (2002, 2006, 2014), Croatia have now progressed from their group at consecutive editions (2018, 2022).

Belgium scored one goal at this World Cup — in 19 previous participations at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros), they have only scored fewer goals once (1930 World Cup – 0).

The Red Devils failed to score in consecutive World Cup matches for first time since 1982 against Poland and USSR.

Belgium have won just one of their last five games in all competitions (D1 L3), while this was their first goalless draw since June 2018 against Portugal, playing 61 matches in between.

Croatia have been beaten just once across their last 19 matches in all competitions (W12 D6), while they are currently unbeaten in nine games (W6 D3).

What's next?

Croatia will face the winners of Group E on Monday, while Belgium now have a near-four-month wait before facing Sweden in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.