Croatia achieved a big victory over Canada, 4 goals to 1, which resulted in Canada’s exit from the finals of the World Cup currently taking place in Qatar.
On Sunday, the Moroccan national team beat Belgium by two goals to nil in the second round of Group F, taking their tally to four points. Costa Rica also made a surprise by beating Japan 1-0, in the second round of Group E.
Alphonso Davies scored Canada’s first World Cup goal, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from exiting the tournament following their defeat by Croatia.
Bayern Munich winger Davies’ second-minute opener gave Canada hope, but they finished as runners-up and suffered back-to-back defeats in their first two group games.
John Herdman’s players scored a goal from the first attack of the match after just 67 seconds, thanks to a powerful header from Davies, who penetrated into the penalty area and tipped it hard from Tagon Buchanan’s cross.
But Croatia did not panic after going behind and creating several chances, with striker Andrej Kramaric testifying that a goal had been disallowed for offside.
But the former Leicester forward and now Hoffenheim forward equalized with a corner kick from player Ivan Perisic’s pass inside the penalty area, set it in front of him, then struck a powerful kick on goal of the Canadian team in the 38th minute of the match.
The Croatian team scored its second goal with Levia, who received the ball in a pass on the edge of the penalty area, to shoot to the right of the Canadian goalkeeper.
Kramaric scored his second and third goals of the game by calmly converting it into the far corner, and substitute Lovro Mader finished the game by scoring the fourth goal for the Croatia national team in stoppage time.
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Morocco defeats Belgium
In their previous Group F match, Morocco shocked world number two Belgium 2-0 to finish second in the table behind 2018 finalists Croatia.
Moroccan Abdelhamid Sabry scored twice from a set piece into Courtois’ goal in the 73rd minute, and Zakaria Boukhalal added the second goal in the 93rd minute of the game, played at Al-Thumama Stadium on Sunday.
With this result, the Moroccan national team climbs to four points and temporarily leads the group, while the balance of the Belgian national team stops at three points. The two teams are awaiting the result of the Canada-Croatia match, which will also be played today.
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Abdelhamid Sabry, the Moroccan player, celebrates the first goal scored in Belgium
Morocco had been exposed to a difficult situation before the match, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou injured and not participating in the match, replaced by substitute goalkeeper Mounir Al-Mohammadi, but were more determined to win the match from the first half.
The sides exchanged attacks in the first half, but Morocco managed to take control of half of their stadium and stopped the danger from the Belgian stars, while the quick winger, Hakim Ziyech, took advantage of the strong runs.
And fellow Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne failed to pull off any positives all game, and it looked like their weak win over Canada in the first game 1-0 was not a strong incentive to get victory over Morocco.
Many had high hopes for Belgium, in the presence of big stars, to achieve a great result, especially since they reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup in Roarcia.
Costa Rica surprises Japan
Japan failed to qualify for the second qualifying round of the World Cup in Qatar, after losing 0-1 to Costa Rica, in their second Group E match at the Ahmed Bin Ali stadium after picking up a surprising victory over Germany in the match The first 2-1.
Fuller Spence scored Costa Rica’s goal with a powerful shot in the 81st minute of the match, despite Japan’s many attempts to score the goal, but always collided with the opposing team’s strong defenses.
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Costa Rican players celebrate their 1-0 victory over Japan
With this result, Costa Rica brought their tally to three points level with Japan, after overcoming the difficult situation after the heavy defeat against Spain in the first match 7-0.
The two teams are awaiting the result of the match between Spain, who also have three points after defeating Costa Rica, and Germany, who have yet to score points after their defeat to Japan, and the match will take place today, Sunday, at seven in the evening GMT.
The Costa Rica-Japan match came in the second round of Group E competitions of the 2022 World Cup, currently underway in Qatar.
training change
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Disappointment for Japan’s players after the unexpected defeat against Costa Rica
Many expected Japan to score an easy win over Costa Rica, but Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu chose to make changes rather than settle for the same line-up and play level against Germany.
Moriyasu made five changes to the team, which led to a poor performance, and then the team received a defeat that upset the balance in the group and ignited the competition.
Costa Rica pulled off an impressive victory after a strong match. And he failed to penetrate Japan’s strong defenses until just nine minutes before the end of the game, when Fuller’s shot penetrated the defense and escaped goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda’s grip, into the Japanese net.
After a goalless first half, in intense heat at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Japan dominated the game for long periods in the second half. But the players failed to find scoring chances until the 88th minute, when Daichi Kamada failed to convert the ball into the net following a pass from Kaoru Mitoma.
After the final whistle, the Costa Rican players celebrated madly on the pitch, especially since this victory was a rehabilitation after the humiliating defeat against Spain in the first match.
Instead, disappointment appeared on the Japan players, who believed they could book a ticket to progress to the round of 16 via Costa Rica before the difficult encounter against Spain in the following game.
