BELGIUM, a goal up in 12 minutes against Morocco, found out all about the broiling heat in Orlando and could yet pay the price for not settling the issue in the first half when plenty of goal chances were squandered, writes Robin Parke.
Some games in this World Cup are about survival - and that just doesn't mean not conceding goals to the opposition. When players have to go through 90 minutes in high temperatures and with humidity levels soaring, it takes a toll.
Belgium could have ended with a point dropped but just what those missed chances took out of players like Georges Grun and Frankie van der Elst remains to be seen.
Hard physical exercise is also about recovery rate levels. By having to go all out to the final whistle, Belgium may have done their cause real harm.
TEAMS Belgium: 1-Michel Preud'homme, 5-Rudi Smidts, 14-Michael De Wolf, 13-Georges Grun, 6-Lorenzo Staelens, 7-Frankie Van Der Elst, 16-Danny Boffin (3-Vital Borkelmans 84), 10-Enzo Scifo, 9-Marc Degryse, 8-Luc Nilis (15-Marc Emmers 53), 17-Josip Weber.
Morocco: 1-Khalil Azmi (22-Zakaria Alaoui 88), 2-Abdellah Nacer, 5-Ismail Triki, 6-Nourredine Naybet, 3-Abdelkrim El Hadrioui, 8-Rachid Azzouzi, 15-Larbi Hababi, 7-Mustapha Hadji, 10-Mustapha El Hadaoui (Ahmed Bahja 68), 9-Mohamed Chaouch (Aziz Samadi 81), 11-Rachid Daoudi.
