Belgium is causing concern ahead of the final group-stage matchday. After being held to a draw by Egypt, Rudi Garcia’s side disappointed again with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Iran. Despite dominating possession and firing 23 shots, the Red Devils were denied by an outstanding performance from Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and once again showed alarming inefficiency in front of goal.
Without Jérémy Doku, who is expected to return soon, Belgium’s attacking players failed to deliver. Romelu Lukaku, in particular, endured a quiet evening. Belgium has now gone 69 consecutive World Cup shots without scoring from open play, a statistic that highlights the team’s current struggles.
Belgium Facing a Qualification Test
Defensively, there are also reasons for concern. Thibaut Courtois was forced to make several crucial saves to keep his team in the game, while Nathan Ngoy was sent off following an avoidable mistake against Mehdi Taremi.
Second in Group G on points level with Iran, Belgium will now play for qualification in a decisive clash against New Zealand. The encounter is already shaping up to be a high-pressure affair for the Red Devils.
Rudy Garcia remains under intense scrutiny as he searches for solutions to avoid a major disappointment. “We lacked efficiency. I expected this type of match, with more than 70% possession, plenty of crosses and plenty of shots. We hit the target, but we did not trouble the goalkeeper enough. We also played 30 minutes with ten men, which does not help against this kind of team. I do not have much to reproach my players for, except that we were not clinical enough. We have had matches like this before where we scored three goals or more. Today we did not. We stayed solid and still created chances even with ten men. That is part of a World Cup campaign, where you sometimes start slowly and know the result you will need to achieve,” explained the Belgian coach.“
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