While Canada put on an exciting performance during its first World Cup appearance in 36 years, the national soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to Belgium Wednesday..Ten minutes into the game Canada had the chance to score its first ever World Cup goal by way of a penalty kick, which would have put them in the lead, however star player Alphonso Davies — coming off an injury — booted his opportunity into the hands of Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois..Hammering out a total 14 shots, the 41st-ranked Canadians maintained heavy pressure on the Belgians, ranked second in the world, for much of the first half. Nonetheless, Belgium was able make one of its four shots count minutes before the halftime whistle..Evidently the more ravenous of both teams during the second half, the Canadians narrowly missed several close calls in their attempt to find the back of the net..The Belgians also had opportunities to double their score, but ultimately coasted through to a 1-0 win..Despite the loss, Canada’s stock undoubtedly went up, with the team’s performance giving further confidence in a possibility of making it out of the group and into the knockout stages..Thousands of Canadian fans made the trek to Qatar to make their presence known.
