Belgium Defeats Canada 1-0 in Opening Group F Match

Doha (Qatar): In the FIFA World Cup, Belgium registered a win over Canada, 1-0 in their opening Group F match at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar last night.

Michy Batshuayi scored the only goal of the match in the first half to help Belgium make a winning start to their campaign. Belgium is in the second spot in the FIFA rankings while Canada is in the 41st place.

In the other matches of the day yesterday, Spain thrashed Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening Group E fixture at the Al Thumama Stadium. After leading 3-0 at half-time, Spain scored four more goals in the second half to outclass the Central American team.

Spain’s Ferran Torres netted a brace while Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, and Pablo Gavi scored, Alvaro Morata and Carlos Soler one goal each. Spain is ranked seventh as compared to Costa Rica which are 31st in the FIFA rankings. 18-year-old Gavi is the youngest man to play for Spain at a World Cup and his goal made him the youngest goalscorer since Brazilian Pele in 1958.

In the second massive upset of the tournament, Japan stunned four-times champions Germany 2-1 in their Group-E opener at Khalifa International Stadium. lkay Gundogan opened the scoring for Germany in the 33rd minute of the first half through a Penalty after David Raum was brought down in the 18-yard box by the Japan goalkeeper.

Japan’s Doan equalized the score in the 75 minutes of the second half while Asano scored the all-important goal in the 83rd minute of the second half.