Tough victory at the start of the World Cup
Routine beats passion: Belgium’s veterans gave Alphonso Davies’ hapless Canadians a painful World Cup return. Also because of a missed penalty by the Bayern star, Canada lost 13,361 days after the previous World Cup game 0-1 (0-1) against the 2018 World Cup bronze medalist. Michy Batshuayi (44th minute) from Fenerbahce Istanbul caused in Al-Rajjan for Belgium’s lucky eighth consecutive preliminary round win at a World Cup.
The young, strong Canadians, on the other hand, did not reward themselves for their courageous performance and, 36 years after the last World Cup game in Mexico in 1986, remained pointless and goalless at a world tournament. The chance of a respectable success would have been there, but Bayern’s Davies put a hand penalty (10th) in the arms of Belgium’s world goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
With Canada’s Hutchinson: The oldest players in World Cup history
Essam El Hadary (Egypt, 45 years, 5 months and 10 days)
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World Cup 2018
Faryd Mondragón (Colombia, 43 years and 3 days)
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World Cup 2014
Roger Milla (Cameroon, 42 years, 1 month and 8 days)
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World Cup 1994
Pat Jennings (Northern Ireland, 41 years)
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World Cup 1986
Peter Shilton (England, 40 years, 9 months and 19 days)
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World Cup 1994
Dino Zoff (Italy, 40 years, 4 months and 13 days)
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World Cup 1990
Ali Boumnijel (Tunisia, 40 years, 2 months and 10 days)
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World Cup 2006
Jim Leighton (Scotland, 39 years, 10 months and 30 days)
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World Cup 1998
David James (England, 39 years, 10 months and 26 days)
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World Cup 2010
Atiba Hutchinson (Canada, 39 years, 9 months and 15 days
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World Cup 2022
Ángel Labruna (Argentina, 39 years, 8 months and 18 days)
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World Cup 1958
Joseph-Antoine Bell (Cameroon, 39 years, 8 months and 16 days)
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World Cup 1994
Sir Stanley Matthews (England, 39 years, 4 months and 25 days)
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World Cup 1954
Rafael Márquez (Mexico, 39 years, 4 months and 4 days)
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World Cup 2018
Sergey Ignashevich (Russia, 38 years and 11 months)
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World Cup 2018
Jan Heintze (Denmark, 38 years, 9 months and 20 days)
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World Cup 2002
The ice hockey nation made steam from the start in front of 40,432 spectators. Full of passion, the World Cup returnees put Belgium under pressure. The aging, still untitled Golden Generation of the Belgians found their way into the game with difficulty and were lucky with the penalty. The Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe only recognized a clear handball from Atlético Madrid’s Yannick Carrasco after the intervention of the video referee. The poor penalty made Courtois the first Belgian keeper in 66 years to save a penalty at a World Cup.
Only after that did the favorite wake up. Whenever ManCity’s Kevin De Bruyne picked up the pace, it became dangerous. Behind it, Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard directed. The 31-year-old captain made his twelfth World Cup appearance, although he has been in form for years and has only made three appearances in the Primera División this season. However, Hazard justified the confidence of coach Roberto Martinez with a dedicated effort.
Nevertheless, the Belgian attacking game was still too imprecise. Canada had significantly more shots on goal, but were also unlucky in not being awarded two more penalties for fouls. As is so often the case, missed opportunities took revenge. Romelu Lukaku’s representative Batshuayi beat CF Montreal’s Kamal Miller just before half-time and finished well to take the lead at half-time.
Before the game, there had been serious concerns in Belgium about Lukaku’s long-term injury. The 29-year-old striker, who has only made five appearances at Inter this season due to a stubborn muscle injury, will not be able to appear in the second group game against Morocco until Sunday at the earliest.
Despite the lead and two changes at the break – among other things, Dortmund’s Thomas Meunier came to his sixth World Cup game with a face mask after breaking his cheekbone – Belgium continued to have problems against the strong Canadians. Captain Atiba Hutchinson also impressed in defensive midfield for the North Americans. The veteran from Besiktas Istanbul became the second oldest outfield player in World Cup history after Cameroon’s Roger Milla. Hutchinson was 39 years and 288 days old on Wednesday. Milla was still used in 1994 at the World Cup in the USA at the age of 42.
World Cup 2022: The most valuable players per nation
Akram Afif | Qatar | Al Sadd SC | Market value: €4 million
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Squad value: €14.9m
Keylor Navas | Costa Rica | PSG | Market value: €5 million
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Squad value: €18.75m
Sultan Al-Ghannam | Saudi Arabia | Al-Nassr FC | Market value: €2.5 million
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Squad value: €25.2m
Matthew Ryan | Australia | FC Copenhagen | Market value: €5 million
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Squad value: €37.3m
Mehdi Taremi | Iran | FC Porto | Market value: €20 million
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Squad value: €59.53m
Ellyes Skhiri | Tunisia | 1. FC Cologne | Market value: €13 million
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Squad value: €62.4m
Moises Caicedo | Ecuador | Brighton | Market value: €13 million
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Squad value: €146.5m
Daichi Kamada | Japan | Eintracht Frankfurt | Market value: €30 million
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Squad value: €154m
Frank Anguissa | Cameroon | SSC Napoli | Market value: €38 million
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Squad value: €155m
Ben Davis | Wales | Tottenham | Market value: €20 million*
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Squad value: €160.15m
*plus Brennan Johnson (Nottingham; MV €20m)
Heung Min Son | South Korea | Tottenham | Market value: €70 million
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Squad value: €164.48m
Edson Alvarez | Mexico | ajax | Market value: €35 million
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Squad value: €176.1m
Alphonso Davies | Canada | Bayern Munich | Market value: €70 million
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Squad value: €187.3m
Thomas Partey | Ghana | Arsenal | Market value: €38 million
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Squad value: €216.9m
Kalidou Koulibaly | Senegal | Chelsea | Market value: €35 million
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Squad value: €229.5m
Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | PSG | Market value: €65 million
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Squad value: €241.1m
Robert Lewandowski | Poland | FC Barcelona | Market value: €45 million
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Squad value: €255.6m
Christian Pulisic | United States | Chelsea | Market value: €38 million
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Squad value: €277.4m
Manuel Akanji | Switzerland | Manchester City | Market value: €30 million
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Squad value: €281m
Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg | Denmark | Tottenham | Market value: €45 million
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Squad value: €353m
Dušan Vlahovic | Serbia | Juventus | Market value: €80 million
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Squad value: €359.5m
Josko Gvardiol | Croatia | RB Leipzig | Market value: €60 million
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Squad value: €377 million
Federico Valverde | Uruguay | Madrid | Market value: €100 million
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Squad value: €449.7m
Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | Manchester City | Market value: €80 million
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Squad value: €563.2m
Matthijs de Ligt | Netherlands | Bayern Munich | Market value: €70 million
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Squad value: €587.25m
Lautaro Martinez | Argentina | Inter | Market value: €75 million
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Squad value: €645.2m
Peter | Spain | FC Barcelona | Market value: €100 million
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Squad value: €877m
Yamal Musiala | Germany | Bayern Munich | Market value: €100 million
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Squad value: €885.5m
Rafael Leao | Portugal | Milan | Market value: €85 million
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Squad value: €937m
Kylian Mbappe | France | PSG | Market value: €160 million
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Squad value: €997.5m
Vinicius Jr. | Brazil | Madrid | Market value: €120 million
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Squad value: €1.14bn
Phil Foden | UK | Manchester City | Market value: €110 million
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Squad value: €1.26bn
It was also due to the presence of the veteran in midfield that there were hardly any relief attacks from Belgium. Instead, substitute Cyle Larin (80th) had a great chance to equalize with a header, but failed at Courtois. The favorite from Belgium brought the seventh win in a row in a World Cup opening game over time because the Canadians were also fading.
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