Hazard bids farewell to World Cup through the back door: Played only three minutes off the bench

Following a disappointing 2020 European Championship, Belgium's golden generation failed to deliver again in Qatar.

The Belgians didn't manage to progress from the group stage after drawing 0-0 with Croatia on Thursday.

Luka Modric's side clinched qualification to the Round of 16 after finishing second in Group F behind Morocco.

Hazard benched

Belgium announced their starting line-up with just over an hour to go for the kick-off, with Roberto Martinez dropping Eden Hazard to the bench.

The Real Madrid forward came off the bench in the 87th minute and didn't manage to help Belgium seal qualification.

Oh, Roberto...

The Belgium coach was the one who stood by Hazard over the last couple of years, even suggesting that he should have enjoyed more playing time at Real Madrid despite his drop in form.

At the moment of truth, Martinez did exactly what Carlo Ancelotti has been doing since taking charge of Los Blancos, as he didn't include Hazard in his first XI.

Game decided by fine margins

Yannick Carrasco committed a penalty in the 15th minute, but the spot-kick was cancelled by the referee after he checked the pitchside VAR monitor, as Dejan Lovren was just offside in the build-up.

Lukaku's missed chances

Belgium improved after the break. Romelu Lukaku came off the bench at half time but missed three big chances to put his team ahead.

He hit the post in the 60th minute, sent the ball wide with three minutes to go and failed to fire it into the back of the net in the 90th minute.

A solid Courtois

He should have done better in Morocco's first goal in Belgium's 2-1 defeat, but Thibaut Courtois managed two clean sheets in three World Cup games.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper saved a penalty against Canada and made some big saves to deny Mateo Kovacic and Luka Modric before the hour mark.

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