By Euronews, AP
Group F: Croatia 0-0 Belgium
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Belgium, one of the pre-tournament favourites, crash out of the World Cup
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A draw with Croatia and Morocco beating Canada sends Roberto Martínez’s team home.
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Croatia, semi-finalists in 2018, will play Japan in the last 16.
Group F: Canada 1-2 Morocco
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Morocco win Group F after holding on to beat Canada.
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Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri put Morocco 2-0 up.
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But Nayef Aguerd’s own goal shortly before half-time brought Canada back into the game.
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Canada came agonisingly close to getting an equaliser when a header hit the bar and bounced down on the goal line in the closing stages of the second half.
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Morocco will play Spain in the knockout phase of the World Cup.
Group E: Spain 1-2 Japan
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Japan has won against Spain 2-1 following goals from SC Freiburg winger Doan Ritsu and Fortuna Düsseldorf midfielder Ao Tanaka.
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Spain had kickstarted the match with an 11th minute goal from Atlético Madrid striker Álvaro Morata.
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Spain had been the clear favourite to win Thursday’s match against Japan, but so was Germany — and that didn’t end well for the European team.
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Japan started the World Cup with a surprise 2-1 win over Germany but followed up with a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica.
Group E: Costa Rica 2-4 Germany
- While four-time world champions Germany defeated Costa Rica 4-2, they have been eliminated from the World Cup.
- The German team won the match following one goal from Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry, another from Werder Bremen forward Niclas Füllkrug and two from Chelsea player Kai Havertz.
- Costa Rica scored two goals, one by Herediano player Yeltsin Tejeda and an own goal by Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (initially attributed to Millonarios defender Juan Pablo Vargas).
