Belgium were made to wait to secure their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in a hard-fought 1-1 draw, as 10-man Kazakhstan extended their unbeaten run to three games.
Unbeaten in the group and knowing a win would guarantee World Cup qualification, Belgium started strongly and dominated possession, but they soon found out the danger the hosts posed on the break.
Galymzhan Kenzhebek was the first to threaten with a thunderous run down the left before cutting inside, and it needed an outstanding fingertip save from Matz Sels to tip his goalbound effort round the post.
The warning wasn’t heeded, however, as Arthur Theate was punished for a loose pass across his own backline, and Chelsea-bound Dastan Satpayev pounced to run through on goal before finishing at the near post.
The visitors attempted to muster a response, and their best chance came midway through the half when Leandro Trossard found space in the box, but his angled finish was well beaten away by Temirlan Anarbekov.
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Instead of sitting on their lead, the home side continued to commit players to the attack every time they won the ball, and Kenzhebek came close to doubling the lead as he curled wide.
The visitors finally woke up just before half-time, but were denied twice as Anarbekov made brilliant reflex saves from Charles De Ketelaere and Timothy Castagne.
Having competed well in the first half, Kazakhstan fell off after the interval and quickly surrendered their lead in simple fashion.
Castagne found space on the right to clip a cross into the six-yard box, leaving Hans Vanaken the simple task of nodding home from close range.
The Belgians completely dominated the game from that moment. Still, they continued to be frustrated by Anarbekov as he denied Vanaken from point-blank range before an unbelievable reflex stop prevented an own goal from Nuraly Alip.
With 10 minutes to go, the task became even tougher for the hosts, as Islam Chesnokov was shown a straight red card, and with Belgium throwing everything at finding a winner, there was still time for Anarbekov to make one more outstanding save, this time denying Nicolas Raskin.
The draw means Belgium will still need to defeat Liechtenstein in their final match to ensure qualification. On the other hand, Kazakhstan ended their qualifying campaign with a somewhat credible eight points.
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Flashscore Man of the Match: Temirlan Anarbekov (Kazakhstan)
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