World Cup Daily: Canada leaves Qatar with reflections on what could have been

After every matchday of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Sportsnet.ca’s World Cup Daily weblog will recap the day’s occasions and sit up for the subsequent day’s slate of video games.             

Here’s what occurred on Thursday in Qatar, in case you missed it…             

THE RESULTS             

Canada 1, Morocco 2 in Doha: Match report || Match stats   

Croatia 0, Belgium 0 in Al Rayyan: Match report || Match stats   

Japan 2, Spain 1 in Al Rayyan: Match report || Match stats   

Costa Rica 2, Germany 4 in Al Khor: Match report || Match stats   

Teams shifting on: Morocco and Croatia (Group E), Japan and Spain (Group F)   

Eliminated groups: Belgium and Canada (Group E), Germany and Costa Rica (Group F)   

Round of 16 matches: Morocco vs. Spain and Germany vs. Croatia   

MAIN TALKING POINT             

Canada heads house with ideas of ‘what might’ve been’ 

To make certain, Canada made historical past in Qatar. Alphonso Davies’ objective towards Croatia, the primary by a Canadian males’s workforce at a FIFA World Cup, will go down as some of the iconic moments in Canadian soccer. For the higher a part of three video games, Canada went toe-to-toe with three nations ranked on this planet high 25. The Reds completed fourth within the Group F desk after Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Morocco, however John Herdman’s gamers can maintain their heads excessive after enjoying with such spirit and placing in a strong aggressive displaying over the course of the group stage. 

At the identical time there will probably be real disappointment from the Canadian workforce over not choosing up some extent in Qatar, which implies it has now misplaced all six of its matches on the World Cup, the joint-worst 100 per cent shedding report within the historical past of the lads’s competitors alongside El Salvador. There will probably be questions on a few of coach John Herdman’s squad alternatives and techniques, together with enjoying Alphonso Davies for granted wingback vs. Morocco and deploying solely two central midfielders towards Croatia’s world-class trio of Luka Modrić, Marcelo Brozović and Mateo Kovačić. 

There’ll even be some painful Canadian reflections over what may need been in Qatar. What if Davies buried that early penalty in its opening recreation vs. Belgium? What if the Canadians had been in a position to make their domination of the Belgians rely for one thing within the kind of some targets? What if Herdman had his workforce take a extra conservative method after going up 1-0 towards Croatia? What if hadn’t insisted his facet play so brazenly towards Modrić and his cohorts?  

What if Milan Borjan didn’t commit that gaffe that resulted in Morocco taking the lead after 4 minutes? What if Atiba Hutchinson’s header which hit the crossbar was only a bit decrease and tied issues up within the seventieth minute? “Two inches,” lamented Herdman in his post-match press convention. “Two inches from getting our first result.” 

The margins between victory and defeat in worldwide soccer are razor skinny. Being in a position to shut these margins can be one of many issues that separates the sport’s elite from the remainder of the trailing pack. Canada got here up brief in too many key moments in Qatar. That value Herdman’s facet dearly, particularly because it already needed to overcome a major high quality hole between themselves and their three group stage opponents. It’s a lesson the Canadian workforce will probably be well-advised to be taught in 4 years’ time when it co-hosts the subsequent World Cup and when much more media scrutiny will probably be on them.

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European giants Belgium and Germany bow out  

Two of worldwide soccer’s huge boys are headed house early from Qatar after each Belgium and Germany had been formally eradicated on Thursday. It must be mentioned: the match gained’t endure due to their absences. 

The Belgians, ranked No. 2 on this planet, had been positively dreadful and their four-point haul flattered them. Kevin De Bruyne and this workforce of superstars did not reside as much as the pre-tournament hype that pegged this assortment of Belgian gamers as a “Golden Generation.” A 1-0 win over Canada had extra to do with the wastefulness of John Herdman’s facet than the Belgians’ high quality. A 2-0 loss to a far superior Morocco adopted, and their abysmal run got here to an finish with a goalless draw towards Croatia. Flat and insipid from the opening kickoff of their first recreation to the ultimate whistle of their final match, the Belgians can haven’t any complaints about their untimely exit. 

As for Germany, it suffered the humiliation of back-to-back group stage exits on the World Cup for the primary time of their superb historical past. Scoring targets wasn’t the issue for the Germans – they discovered the again of the online six occasions. But additionally they conceded 5 occasions, and did not report a single clear sheet. A pedestrian effort in a gap 2-1 loss to Japan was made worse by an equally uninspiring efficiency in a 1-1 draw with Spain, a recreation that put them behind the eight ball. Thursday’s 4-2 victory over Costa Rica was too little and too late, because the decisive blow for the four-time World Cup winners got here after they couldn’t beat Spain on matchday 2. 

GOAL OF THE DAY             

After profitable again possession inside its half within the tenth minute, Germany launched a fast counter-attack that ended with David Raum delivering a wonderful cross into the field for Serge Gnabry, whose header nestled contained in the far put up as Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas helplessly seemed on. 

MOMENT OF THE DAY             

Alphonso Davies going into the stands at Doha’s Al Thumama Stadium to hug his mother and father: 

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QUOTE OF THE DAY             

“It’s been the first time in a long time of being here,” Herdman mentioned after the sport. “We’d like to have been here longer, that’s for sure. But we’ve enjoyed the ride.” – Canadian coach John Herdman 

SIX PACK OF STATS             

• In Morocco and Senegal, two African sides have made it previous the group stage of a males’s World Cup for simply the second time (Algeria and Nigeria in 2014). Morocco is the primary African nation to complete high of its group since Nigeria in 1998.  

• Canada has been concerned in the one two targets scored within the opening 5 minutes thus far on this World Cup (Alphonso Davies 2′ vs. Croatia, Hakim Ziyech 4′ at present vs. Canada).       

• Belgium has did not progress to the knockout levels of a World Cup for the primary time since 1998.       

• Germany’s Manuel Neuer performed in his nineteenth World Cup recreation, changing into the all-time chief in appearances for goalkeepers within the historical past of the lads’s competitors.       

• French referee Stephanie Frappart is the primary lady to take cost of a males’s World Cup recreation after dealing with Germany vs. Costa Rica. FIFA additionally assigned two ladies as assistants to Frappart – Neuza Back of Brazil and Mexico’s Karen Diaz Medina – to finish the primary all-female refereeing workforce on the males’s World Cup. 

• Alvaro Morata is the second participant to attain in his first three World Cup appearances for Spain’s males’s workforce, after Telmo Zarra in 1950. 

Stats courtesy of Opta             

THREE STARS OF THE DAY             

1) Serge Gnabry (Germany): He scored one objective and arrange one other in a wonderful efficiency that also wasn’t adequate to ship Germany to the subsequent spherical. 

2) Kai Havertz (Germany): He got here off the bench within the 66th minute and went on to attain two targets over a 12-minute span.   

3) Achraf Hakimi (Morocco): Completed 81 per cent of his passes and made 4 tackles, whereas additionally gathering an help on his workforce’s profitable objective towards Canada.   

LOOKING AHEAD TO FRIDAY             

The group stage involves an finish with 4 ultimate video games on Friday. Ghana faces Uruguay and South Korea goes up towards Portugal (10:00 a.m. ET) in Group H, with the Africans in pole place to affix the Portuguese within the subsequent spherical. In Group G, Brazil performs Cameroon and Serbia squares off towards Switzerland, the place a win by the Swiss would enable them to affix the Brazilians within the spherical of 16. 

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John Molinaro is among the main soccer journalists in Canada, having coated the sport for over 20 years for a number of media shops, together with Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is at the moment the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, an internet site devoted to in-depth protection of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic may be discovered right here.