Ten teams have now progressed to the last 16 of the World Cup after Groups A, B, C and D played their final matches. The Netherlands, Senegal, England and the United States have joined France and Portugal in qualifying for the knockout stages. They have now been joined by defending champions France, Australia, Argentina and Poland after a night of high drama.
Argentina beat Poland 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez, but their opponents still joined them, by the skin of their teeth. Mexico beat Saudi Arabia 2-1, but fell just short on goal difference.
Now, it is the turn of Groups E and F. Morocco easily beat Canada, 2-1, to win the group and advance, a position few could have predicted before this tournament started. After the whistle, the Moroccans threw their coach, Walid Regragui, high into the air in celebration.
Belgium’s last two matches — including a 2-0 shock defeat to Morocco — fulfilled a prophecy some Belgium players have spouted this tournament: the collective is too old, past its glory years, good enough to get here but not cohesive enough to do anything more than score a single, solitary goal across three matches.
After coming on at the half, Lukaku alone could have scored three or more. One shot dented the goal post. Another, off his head mere minutes later, sailed over the crossbar. Later, in the 90th minute, a cross hit the general area of his stomach; better luck, and it would have caromed inside the back post. Instead, it fell and rolled to the Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, and that was that for Belgium — at this World Cup, and also this glorious, disappointing era.
This is the end for Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard and Lukaku, for Thibaut Courtois and Dries Mertens and Jan Vertonghen, for a group that reached the semifinals in 2018 and has spent much of the last four years ranked No. 1 in the world.
As consolations go, that distinction might mean more years from now, but not in the hollow aftermath, where only disappointment and regret prevailed.