Croatia through as Belgium exit the World Cup with Lukaku missing huge chances
December 1,2022
Romelu Lukaku came off the bench at half-time and wasted three huge chances in the second half, as Croatia sealed World Cup last-16 qualification and Belgium failed to progress from the group stage following a 0-0 draw on Thursday.
Yannick Carrasco missed a chance to open the scoring early in the game before committing a penalty
However, referee Anthony Taylor reversed his decision due to an offside in the build-up after checking the pitchside VAR monitor in the 18th minute.
Belgium failed to create more danger in front of Croatia’s goal before the break and they brought on striker Lukaku to replace Dries Mertens at half-time.
Yet, Croatia looked lively in the second half with a solid Thibaut Courtois denying Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric
The Croatians were in control of the game when Kevin De Bruyne combined well with Carrasco in the opposition box, with the Atletico Madrid star failing to beat Dominik Livakovic.
Lukaku pounced on the rebound but he was unlucky to hit the post from close range on the hour mark
The Belgium striker had another two opportunities to break the deadlock, but he sent the ball just wide with four minutes to go and failed to tap it in from close range in the 90th minute.
Following this goalless draw, Croatia finished second in Group F behind Morocco, with Belgium finishing third and Canada sitting bottom
