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Belgium fans blamed manager Roberto Martinez for their hapless performance in the 2-0 defeat to Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup today (November 27).
The Red Devils lost their second group game of the tournament to Morocco. The warning signs were there in the hard-earned 1-0 win against Canada in their opening match on November 23.
However, they looked out of sorts against Morocco and were punished for their poor performance. Abdelhamid Sabiri opened the scoring for the African side in the 73rd minute with the first direct free-kick goal of the tournament.
Thibaut Courtois could have arguably done better to save it as the Real Madrid shot-stopper was caught off guard at his near post. However, Sabiri deserves all the credit for his effort.
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Zakaria Aboukhlal then found a spectacular finish in injury time to secure all three points for Morocco.
Belgium now have three points from their first two games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Fans noted that Martinez's team lacked any creative spark throughout the game.
They called for the former Everton manager to be sacked as well. Here are some of the best reactions across Twitter:
The Red Devils will need a positive result against Croatia on December 1 in their final group game to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Eden Hazard and Co. past their prime as Belgium lost to Morocco in the FIFA World Cup
Belgium's golden generation is one of the best-combined groups of players that international football has seen on paper in recent times.
While the quality remains intact, the players are aging and might well be passing their primes. The likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, and more have struggled with injury woes in recent times.
Hazard is nowhere near the player that he was three or four years ago. Hence, one might argue that the team is too old to reach its full potential. The recent loss against Morocco did no good in dismissing that argument.
Despite not being at his best, Hazard remains the target of multiple fouls from the opposition in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Ahead of the clash against Morocco, the Real Madrid winger addressed the issue as he said (via MARCA):
"I've always said that if there's a foul then it means I have the ball, so that's a good thing, I feel I'm a better player with the ball, like Neymar, Vinicius. We get a lot of fouls and we have to live with that. It's part of the game. I just hope the opponents get yellows more often to stop those fouls, but it's part of the game."
Hazard, 31, has scored 33 goals and provided 36 assists in 124 games for Belgium.
