Canada pay costly penalty

O Canada, the wait remains.

Alphonso Davies had the chance to score his nation’s first-ever World Cup goal, to grab a quick lead on Belgium. As Davies readied for the spot kick in the 11th minute after a hand ball, red-clad Canadian fans at the other end of Ahmed bin Ali Stadium buzzed in anticipation for a moment decades in the making.

‘‘You’re carrying the weight of a nation: 36 years of waiting — longer than 36 for our first goal,’’ coach John Herdman said.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois guessed correctly to dive right and batted Davis’ attempt with his forearm. The ball bounced away, and the Canadians never got any closer to scoring.

Despite dominating the world’s secondranked team in Canada’s first World Cup match since 1986, the Canadians fell to Belgium 1-0 as Michy Batshuayi scored on a quick counter in the 44th minute.

Croatia and Morocco drew 0-0 in the other group F match.