De Bruyne of Belgium appeared confused after being named game’s Man of the match

• After being named man of the match in his team’s World Cup victory over Canada on Wednesday
• Belgium’s star Kevin De Bruyne said he “didn’t know why” he received the award
• As Belgium edged to a 1-0 victory courtesy to Michy Batshuayi’s first-half goal

De Bruyne frequently found himself tossing his arms in exasperation due to his inability to get into the game.

“I didn’t play a terrific game, in my opinion. I have no idea how or why I won the prize. Maybe it’s the name,” the Manchester City midfielder suggested.

“We started pretty poorly, we didn’t find any solutions, and we didn’t play well enough as a team.

“We didn’t play a terrific game today, me included, but at least we found a way to win,” the player said of the second half when we started to break through their pushing.

In their first World Cup game since 1986, Canada missed multiple opportunities, including a failed penalty by Alphonso Davies.

On Sunday, Belgium will play Morocco before Canada faces Croatia, the runners-up from last year.

Dispute over VAR
When Axel Witsel was outrun by Richie Laryea inside the area and tripped his opponent, Canada had a significant penalty appeal rejected despite a VAR review.

Toby Alderweireld’s straightforward long ball over the top found the running Michy Batshuayi, who blasted home with his left foot to give Belgium the early advantage.

Difference makers 🧤⚽️#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/VdTyPuNjqI

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022

Before halftime, Canada still had time to generate and squander another fantastic opportunity when Buchanan, standing six yards away, misfired on Laryea’s low cross while sliding.

Amadou Onana of Everton entered the midfield in place of Carrasco as Martinez made a double replacement at halftime in an effort to halt the tide.

After the break, though, Canada had a golden opportunity to tie the game when David missed a beautiful cross from Stephen Eustaquio after the Porto midfielder had nutmegged Kevin De Bruyne.

Herdman’s troops kept forward but were unable to put the game away because Buchanan miskicked terribly from the edge of the area.

The more players Canada committed, the riskier Belgium appeared to be on the break, and Laryea made an outstanding last-ditch tackle to prevent Batshuayi from scoring again.

In a tense finale, substitute Cyle Larin, who led CONCACAF qualification for the tournament in scoring, came dangerously close to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

De Bruyne missed an opportunity to end the match by shooting into the crowd, and Larin then sent another header spinning past Courtois’ bar as Belgium crossed the finish line.

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