The truth is that Romelu Lukaku probably should have left the pitch with the ball, but the painful reality is that the striker was left empty-handed, his hat-trick of second-half fouls dooming Belgium to a premature exit from the World Cup. The worst of them all went into stoppage time. Thorgan Hazard crossed from the right and an unmarked Lukaku reached the six-yard box, but instead of converting from close range, the ball bounced off his chest and into the arms of Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Thierry Henry, one of Roberto MartÃnez’s assistants, covered his eyes with his tracksuit top. Thomas Meunier threw a bottle of water on the ground. Yannick Carrasco threw a towel over his face. At the final whistle, Lukaku hit the shell of the Belgium dugout in pure rage before being consoled by Youri Tielemans.
Cue the jokes about Lukaku finally hitting the target. Toby Alderweireld, one of those who will surely not return to this stage, lay down on the grass. In the stands, a fan of the Belgium brand dressed, naturally, as a cone of bright yellow chips put his hands in his pockets in disbelief.
Some fans earlier mocked the arrival of Eden Hazard who came on from the substitutes’ bench for the last seven minutes. For Belgium’s golden generation, this latest rage fell so painfully flat and MartÃnez later confirmed that this lackluster outing would represent his final game in charge. “I can’t go on,” he said. Croatia, runners-up four years ago, advance to the round of 16 against the Group E winners.
In mitigation, Lukaku, who also fired against the post, arrived in Qatar after two substitute appearances since August. Perhaps it was no surprise that the Internazionale striker was rusty. Not that it makes it any easier to explain the circumstances surrounding Belgium’s deeply underwhelming tournament.
Kevin De Bruyne had initially played down his side’s chances of lifting the trophy and in recent days Belgium have had to play down the cracks after Eden Hazard criticized the sluggishness of an aging defence. The sight of Martinez vociferously protesting to the fourth official at the failure to award a foul for a back pass after the ball went to the keeper in front of the impressive Josko Gvardiol summed up the frustrations.
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That a wave of Mexicans swept across this pitch on 41 minutes as Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen tossed the ball back and forth spoke volumes for the entertainment on offer in a first half where the only drama was a VAR review that led referee Anthony Taylor to overturn the award of a penalty to Croatia.
Belgium assistant manager Thierry Henry consoles Lukaku after Belgium’s early exit. Photo: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA
Vertonghen headed in a free-kick from the edge of the six-yard box, but when Carrasco failed to get hold of the ball, he fouled Andrej Kramaric, which led to Taylor pointing to the spot. Luka Modric took the ball and Croatia’s substitutes lined the edge of the box with anticipation, if not anticipation, but then Taylor visited the pitch’s VAR monitor, which detailed that Dejan Lovren was offside when challenged Vertonghen inside the area. Large screens at each end displaying replays of AI technology emphasized the tightness of the call.
At 35, Vertonghen was the oldest player in a starting line-up with the oldest average age at a World Cup since Australia v Germany in 2010. Martinez’s big call was to drop Eden Hazard to the bench, with the Real Madrid striker among the four players dropped after the defeat in Morocco. Dries Mertens and Leandro Trossard made their first outings of the tournament. At almost 27, Leicester full-back Timothy Castagne was the team’s baby boy.
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Belgium got off to a shaky start, with Ivan Perisic curling a shot wide inside 11 seconds after being set up by Modric and a minute later Leander Dendoncker chasing a red-and-white Croatia shirt into his own goal. As they woke up, Martinez changed personnel and system at half-time, Lukaku pulling the trigger to switch to a 3-4-3.
Lukaku’s presence gave Croatia something to think about and Guardiol panicked and stuck out his left leg at the near post to prevent De Bruyne’s cross from reaching the lurking striker. A minute later, Lukaku headed Livakovic home from De Bruyne’s cross. He then headed home another De Bruyne cross, although the offside flag would have ensured any celebrations were short-lived.
But as this game, which sprang to life in the second half, crept towards the hour mark, Belgium stitched together a neat move, from which they will wonder how they failed to thrive. Especially Lukaku. De Bruyne directed a wonderful pass, as if by subterfuge, to Carrasco, whose first touch allowed him to tiptoe between two Croatian defenders and move towards goal.
Carrasco looked to be doing everything right, but his shot was blocked by the boot of the outstretched Josip Juranovic, who lunged in front of a desperate Livakovic. The ball then spiraled across the box for Lukaku, but he could only whip a shot wide of Livakovic’s left post. The scary thing for Lukaku and Belgium was that worse was yet to come, much worse.