Two games in, Belgium are still waiting for their first win at the . After a , they again came away with just one point after a – a game they feel they could have and should have won.
"Obviously, we had hoped to start better and win all our matches – or at least one," coach Rudi Garcia admitted. "But this is a part of life – sometimes this is how the cookie crumbles."
Despite almost 70 per cent possession and 23 attempts at Los Angeles Stadium – the most for Belgium in a World Cup game without scoring since USA 1994 – the Red Devils were unable to take the lead against a Iranian side defending with all their might.
"It was the kind of game we were expecting," Nicolas Raskin told FIFA after the game. "I'm very frustrated. I think the ball didn't roll for us in the last 30 metres. It was the type of game in which the ball is just not dropping for you, and everything goes well for them – and their goalkeeper had a brilliant game."
"We expected to dominate and we did," Garcia said. "So tactically, in terms of the game plan, we played as we wanted to. The Iranian team were going to hit us hard on the breakaways and their set pieces are very good. We responded well but we could've done better – maybe we were a little naïve. If you're not efficient you can't score, and if you don't score you can't win the match."
After a red card against Nathan Ngoy, Belgium spent the last half hour down to ten men, but still had their moments – and post-game analysis focused more on how they couldn't get the job done before that. "During the first half, we got ahead of ourselves – we were wasteful," Garcia concluded.
"We have to stay with the emotions, stay calm and keep our composure," striker Romelu Lukaku said to FIFA. "That is something that we have to improve on, I think the players know that as well."
The pressure's on now for their – a win is a must to have matters in their own hands. But according to Raskin, this feeling is nothing new: "It's the World Cup! Every game is under pressure, so it doesn't change anything for us. We just need to go out and win."
"Desire and commitment to the cause," Lukaku said about what they need to bring to the table against the All Whites. "It's a World Cup, it's the biggest tournament, the biggest stage. We don't want to go home. We want to go as far as possible and we want to put ourselves in the greatest position. Let's go for it!"
Sources: FIFA Official
