Belgium knocked out of World Cup after goalless draw, Croatia into round of 16

Belgium knocked out of World Cup after goalless draw, Croatia into round of 16

Belgium were knocked out of the World Cup following a poor 0-0 draw against Croatia on Thursday.

Roberto Martinez's side needed a win against the 2018 World Cup finalists to progress past the group stage, but they were unable to find the back of the net.

Captain Eden Hazard was dropped for the start of the match, and Romelu Lukaku came on to miss four big chances as Belgium's World Cup journey came to disappointing end.

Croatia advance into the round of 16 but qualify in second place after Morocco finished top of the group with a 2-1 win over Canada.

"It's not easy to win games in the World Cup," Martinez told BBC after the game. "We weren't ourselves in first game we had a deserved defeat in second game.

"Today we were ready, we created opportunities and today there is no regrets. We're out but we can leave with our heads held high."

Croatia dominated from the first whistle and had a chance inside the opening 20 seconds but Ivan Perisic blazed his shot over the bar.

Belgium responded with a swift counterattack after 14 minutes but Dries Mertens was unable to find the target after a fine through ball from Kevin de Bruyne.