In its first World Cup match in 36 years, Canada suffered a creditable 1-0 loss to second-ranked Belgium.
Michy Batshuayi scored from a dozen meters in the 44th minute, on a long central pass from Toby Alderweireld.
Steven Vitoria came close to intercepting the throw-in, but Batshuayi took his chance, even surrounded closely by Kamal Miller and Richie Laryea.
The world’s number 41 squad, the Maple Leaf had a 14-4 advantage on shots at halftime. Only two Canadian shots were on target, though.
Alphonso Davies missed a penalty shot in the 9the minute, heading the ball only slightly to the right of Thibaut Courtois. The golden opportunity came from a hand of Yannick Carrasco.
The officials were lenient later in the half, when Belgian Axel Witsel pushed Laryea in borderline fashion.
Alistair Johnston fumbled in the first moments of the match, opening the door to a first Belgian threat.
Canada still delivered a good first quarter of an hour; the country had then had 62% of the time of possession.
A member of group F, Canada will play again on Sunday against Croatia. Next will come a match against Morocco on 1er december.
Missed opportunities
On the half hour mark, a powerful shot from Johnston was stopped by Courtois. The CF Montreal player had just been mowed down when he entered the danger zone. He looked in the direction of the referee in search of a call, before getting into position for an excellent shot.
In the added time in the first half, Tajon Buchanan redirected a cross on the ground too high.
By half-time, the Belgians had done enough to have the advantage of 54% of the time spent with the ball.
At the 65e minute, Amadou Onana almost created a five against three close to Milan Borjan’s net, after defeating Ismaël Koné of CF Montreal. He pushed the ball just a little too far, however, and the Canadian defense was able to save the day.
Eleven minutes later, Cyle Larin, posted near the goal, failed to control Buchanan’s precise pass, coming from the right flank.
Larin had another chance in the 80th minute, from a Johnston cross. His header was stopped by Courtois, diving to his right. The Real Madrid keeper is six-foot-six.
Johnston was shown a yellow card soon after when he stopped a Lois Openda push too hard on the left flank.
There were three shots on target per side in total. Overall, 21 of the 30 shots came from John Herdman’s squad.
The match was presented in front of 40,432 people, at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, inaugurated in December 2020.
The Maple Leaf had not played in the World Cup since June 9, 1986 — a 2-0 loss to the Soviet Union in Mexico.
Belgium managed without star striker Romelu Lukaku, author of 68 goals in 102 games with the Red Devils, injured in the left thigh.