Belgium was able to breathe a heavy sigh of relief heading into halftime against Morocco.
With first-half stoppage time winding down, Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech hit a free kick past Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to put the game at 1-0. However, technology came to the aid of the No. 2 team in FIFA’s rankings and wiped the goal off the board.
A VAR review of the play ruled that Moroccan captain Romain Saïss was offside on the play. Saïss did not actually make contact with Ziyech’s kick, but his run to the near post influenced Courtois’ approach.
The play would have resulted in Morocco’s only shot on goal in the first half. Instead, the team was left at zero through one half with the game still scoreless.
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Morocco is coming off a 0-0 draw against Croatia on Wednesday, while Belgium leads Group F following its 1-0 victory over Canada.