AL RAYYAN, Qatar — After the final whistle of a scoreless draw between the golden generations of two minor European football teams, the end came for one of them. Eras in football only last so long, injuries and age catch up with everyone.
The tie was enough for Croatia to advance to the knockout stages of this World Cup. The players, several of whom were on the field when Croatia lost the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, will have to play at least one more game in Qatar. They hugged and clapped hands after Thursday’s final whistle at Ahmad bin Ali stadium.
But Belgium – a team that has risen to new heights and topped the world rankings for a number of years, finishing third in 2018 – will go home. Once expected to compete for a World Cup title at a time when it could call on some of the world’s best players in a variety of positions – goalkeeper, midfielder, striker – instead Belgium never won a major international title or did it even reach a final. Now it is unlikely that the stars will still play together. Most Belgian top players are in their early to mid-thirties. This trip to Qatar was their last shot together.
“A huge disappointment for us,” said national coach Roberto Martínez.
After the game, 29-year-old Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s top scorer, was moved to tears and comforted by teammates on the sidelines. Axel Witsel, 33, a midfielder, fell to the ground, as did 33-year-old defender Toby Alderweireld. Kevin De Bruyne, 31, a midfielder widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, walked around to say goodbye.
Martínez, Belgium’s coach since 2016, later admitted that he hugged everyone because it would be his last game as team leader.
“It’s not every year that there’s a tournament,” said Alderweireld. “We’ll see what everyone does. It’s too close to the last game to decide. Everyone now goes home and moves to their club and has time to decide what to do. It hurts.”
Morocco, on the other hand, was filled with joy. With a 2-1 victory over Canada on Thursday it won Group F. After a 2018 World Cup in which none of Africa’s five qualifiers progressed to the knockout stages, Morocco joined Senegal in the round of 16 in Qatar – with Ghana joining on Friday. Morocco also represented hope for another region: it is the only Arab country still participating in the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East.
Morocco were the only team in the group to win twice, toppling Canada and upset Belgium, 2-0, a result that led to riots in Brussels. By winning the group, Morocco earned a date with Spain on Tuesday, who finished second in Group E after losing to Japan. Croatia will take on Japan on Monday.
“When we play at this level, we are not afraid of anyone,” Zlatko Dalic, Croatia’s coach since 2017, said through an interpreter.
On Thursday, Belgium, which had to win to continue, played its best game of the tournament. But Croatia, led by 37-year-old captain Luka Modric and other World Cup veterans such as Marcelo Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Perisic, held their own as the teams traded attacks and counter-attacks.
The game will perhaps be most remembered for Lukaku’s handful of close range chances in the second half that looked like sure goals but somehow missed. As he is still not fully recovered from a recent hamstring injury, he was unable to play a full game. Lukaku started the second half and soon made his presence felt.
In the 61st minute, his shot from a rebound clattered against the right goal post. A minute later he headed a ball from De Bruyne just over the crossbar. In the 87th minute, after sending a ball a few inches to the right of goal from close range, he leaned forward in disbelief with his hands on his knees. Three minutes later, Lukaku hit a ball from his chest towards the goal a few yards away, but was saved by Dominik Livakovic.
“We are very disappointed,” said Alderweireld, later adding: “If we had had a little more luck and quality, we would have scored and advanced to the next round.”
The happiness and quality never came. Throughout the tournament, there were reports of discord within the team, which Martínez fired. They started when De Bruyne was making waves say this team was too old to win the title. The comments seemed to confuse some of his teammates, such as 35-year-old defender Jan Vertonghen, who told reporters after Belgium’s loss to Morocco on Sunday that the team “attacked badly because we are also too old at the front”.
After Thursday’s game, midfielder Timothy Castagne said the team’s effort against Croatia showed his teammates were united. But he admitted that “a big change” was coming for the team, from Martínez.
“Hopefully we can use this failure and not let it happen again,” said Castagne, 26, later adding of this golden generation for Belgium: “They have done great things for the nation. Now we have to try to do it again .”
Martínez said he had decided before the tournament that this would be it for him as Belgium coach once his contract expired after this World Cup. He rambled on about the players’ achievements and remarked how proud he was of them. He kept his emotions in check when he said he couldn’t continue as their coach.
“We were not the team we are,” he said when explaining the problems in Belgium. “We listened to the outside noise. We were afraid to lose a game.”
As a chapter of Belgian football closed, Martínez said that “the true fans” would appreciate what this group had done and the joy it had brought. Croatian fans, on the other hand, will continue to follow and appreciate their team – for now.
“We will stay here together for one more game,” defender Josip Juranovic said. ‘Maybe three. We will see.”