Croatia vs Belgium match ended with 0-0. In need of a game-changer, Martinez sent on Lukaku, who had scored 28 goals in his previous 28 appearances for his country. Not fit enough to start because of a hamstring problem which had sidelined him since October prior to this World Cup, Lukaku was Martinez’s big hope.
Croatia vs Belgium 0-0 Draw | FIFA World Cup 2022
Belgium’s starting line-up was the oldest seen so far at the FIFA World Cup – 31 years and 95 days on average – and they were slow out of the blocks, with Ivan Perisic racing down the left and shooting wide with just 10 seconds on the clock. On the hour mark he hit a post with the goal at his mercy after Carrasco’s shot was parried. Three minutes later he headed over from a De Bruyne cross, when the ball may have already rolled out of play. Two bad misses – but it got a lot worse from the 87th minute onwards.
