Belgium held to draw by Iran as Lukaku criticises emotional play

Belgium remain winless after two matches at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ after a goalless draw with Iran. Thibaut Courtois recorded his eighth clean sheet at the tournament, matching Peter Shilton and Fabien Barthez’s record for most at a World Cup. Rudi Garcia admitted Belgium lacked efficiency. "We had 70 percent possession but lacked depth and verticality," the head coach told . "The substitutes brought more dynamism, but with ten men it’s always difficult." Belgium’s group fate now hinges on the final match against Croatia. Garcia added: "What matters now is New Zealand. I have confidence in my team." Toby Alderweireld questioned the team’s preparation. "This group is the weakest at the World Cup. You have to finish first. Expectations were too high due to the last two pre-World Cup matches. Key players—except Courtois—didn’t deliver. That’s problematic." Marc Degryse echoed the sentiment. "We have better players than Egypt and Iran. You must beat them. The group isn’t ready to play intuitively. We lack automatisms."

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Romelu Lukaku criticised the emotional approach. "We had many chances but the ball wouldn’t go in," he told . "We played with too much emotion. We had a plan but weren’t cool enough at key moments." Lukaku added: "I’m happy I played over an hour, but obviously not with the result. We must win the next match." Nathan Ngoy was sent off for a clumsy foul on Mehdi Taremi. Maxime De Cuyper came closest to scoring after half-time but missed from two metres against Alireza Beiranvand.

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Belgium now have two points from six after the stalemate, losing control of their group destiny. Late chances fell to Dodi Lukebakio, Johan Bakayoko and Charles De Ketelaere, but none troubled Beiranvand.