Belgium’s golden generation today have one last chance to salvage their campaign in a must-win World Cup meeting with Croatia.
If the rather drab nature of the narrow win over Canada was emphasised by how Croatia smashed the Maple Leafs on the weekend, Belgium’s lethargic displays hit rock bottom with a deserved defeat at the hands of Morocco.
It means either a win or a draw combined with a heavy Moroccan defeat are required to send the Red Devils through as their highly-talented squad stares down the barrel of losing their final realistic chance at winning the World Cup.
Having also dropped points to the Atlas Lions, Croatia need a result to guarantee progression to the last-16.
Here are all the details...
Date, kick-off time and venue
Croatia vs Belgium is scheduled for a 3pm GMT kick-off today, December 1, 2022.
The match will take place at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
Where to watch Croatia vs Belgium
TV channel: In the UK, the match will be televised free-to-air and live on BBC One, with coverage beginning at 2.30pm.
Live stream: Fans can also catch the game live online via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick at the ground.
Croatia vs Belgium team news
Marko Livaja replaced Nikola Vlasic for the Croats after an injury to the West Ham loanee ahead of the win over Canada.
Having scored in that rout, Livaja should keep his place in what could be an unchanged line-up.
Belgium plan on having Romelu Lukaku fit to start after a late cameo against Morocco to return from injury. Michy Batshuayi will drop out if so.
Youri Tielemans, Yannick Carrasco, Leandro Trossard and Jeremy Doku are all candidates for a starting berth with Roberto Martinez likely to make changes.
Croatia vs Belgium prediction
Belgium should get a much-needed boost with Lukaku’s return but come up against a Croatia side believing they can match their fine run of four years ago.
A 2-2 draw.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Croatia have won just one of their last five meetings with the Red Devils.
Croatia wins: 3
Draws: 2
Belgium wins: 3
Croatia vs Belgium match odds
Croatia: 17/10
Draw: 12/5
Belgium: 13/8
