The eternal secret favorite Belgium travels to the World Cup in Qatar with an unexpected defeat in their luggage. Cameroon and Serbia recorded victories.
The “Red Devils” from Belgium lost on Friday (11/18/2022) in Kuwait against Egypt 1: 2 (0: 1), coach Roberto Martinez offered almost all the top performers around the former Bundesliga professional Kevin De Bruyne. However, Romelu Lukaku was still absent, the Inter Milan star striker recovering from a thigh injury.
The North Africans, who did not qualify for the World Cup, took the lead through Mostafa Mohamed (33 minutes) and Mahmoud Ibrahim Hassan (46 minutes), the second goal came from Egypt’s exceptional player Mohamed Salah from FC Liverpool strong before. Belgium only came back through Lois Openda (76th).
Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Meunier came on as a second-half substitute for the Belgians, club-mate Thorgan Hazard not making an appearance. Goalkeeper Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg) is already the second man behind Thibaut Courtois. In addition to De Bruyne, former Bundesliga pros Axel Witsel and Michy Batshuayi were also in the starting XI. Belgium open against Canada in Group F next Wednesday, followed by games against Morocco (November 27) and Croatia (December 1).
Choupo-Moting scores for Cameroon
Cameroon striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting from record champions Bayern Munich has continued his run and also scored for the national team in the last friendly before the start of the World Cup in Qatar. The native of Hamburg gave Cameroon the lead in a 1-1 (0-0) win over Panama in Abu Dhabi.
Choupo-Moting came on for Vincent Aboubakar at half-time and scored a few minutes later (48′). Michael Murillo scored the equalizer for Panama, which did not qualify for the World Cup (55th). Choupo-Moting and Cameroon meet Switzerland (November 24), Serbia (28) and Brazil (December 2) in Group G at the finals in the desert nation.
Serbia wins World Cup dress rehearsal against Bahrain
In their dress rehearsal, Serbia ultimately managed an easy victory – the prominent attacking team gained self-confidence once again. In Bahrain, coach Dragan Stojkovic’s team won 5-1 (1-1). Ajax Amsterdam captain Dusan Tadic gave Serbia the lead twice (8’/50′), while Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic (51′) and former Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic (89′) also scored. Filip Djuricic (87th) was also successful.
Abdulla Yusuf equalized with a penalty for Bahrain, who defended well in the first half. Defender Milos Veljkovic from Bundesliga club Werder Bremen was not used by the Serbs. At the World Cup, Serbia will first meet Brazil, Cameroon (November 28) and Switzerland (December 2) are the other opponents in Group G.