Jan Vertonghen fumes as Morocco shocks CALAMITOUS Belgium 2-0 after shipping two identical goals

Jan Vertonghen hinted that there were matters that he 'shouldn't' discuss in the 'open air' after his side fell to a stunning 2-0 defeat at the hands of Morocco on Sunday afternoon.

The Belgian veteran was at the heart of a defence that conceded two identical goals in the game - although the first was disallowed for offside - with the team ranked No 2 in the world struggling to make any inroads against the Moroccan defence.

After a first half in which Hakim Ziyech thought he had given his side the lead, the Atlas Lions were the more incisive side in the second period, scoring directly from a free-kick by the corner flag through Abdelhamid Sabiri in the 73rd minute.

The lead was then doubled by Zakaria Aboukhlal in the second minute of added time with a cool finish into the top right corner of Thibaut Courtois' goal to seal the memorable win.

Defeat to Morocco saw them fluff the chance of progressing through to the last-16 and they will now need a result in their final match against Croatia to progress.

'In itself it was good, because we didn't give much away,' said the defender after the game. 'But in the end we conceded two identical goals on the set piece, twice at the near post. Balls that should never go in.

'The first time we got away well (disallowed for offside), the second time not anymore.

'There's so much going through my mind right now, things I shouldn't say in the open air. I don't think we created any chances. Where did it go wrong?

'We probably also attack badly because we are too old, that must be it now, surely? We have a lot of quality up front, but so does Morocco, and they came out better today. This is very frustrating.'

Having struggled against Canada in their opening match of the tournament, there was widespread speculation over Belgium's credentials heading into the clash with the north African side.

Many of Belgium's 'Golden Generation' are still in the national team, including the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Toby Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Thibaut Courtois and Dries Mertens.

However, much of the talk before the game concerned their age, with many holding the belief that the current side had missed their chance to achieve anything with many players the wrong side of 30.

And the comments from arguably their best player after their struggles against Canada hardly helped ease the pressure that might have been on the team's shoulders.

'I think our chance was 2018. We have a good team, but it is ageing.' De Bruyne claimed in an interview with The Guardian.

'We lost some key players. We have some good new players coming, but they are not at the level other players were in 2018. I see us more as outsiders.'

But his words look to have a kernel of truth in them after Roberto Martinez's men fluffed their lines against the Atlas Lions, and if Canada should beat Croatia in the other game in Group F, they will move above Belgium on goal difference.

De Bruyne and Co finished in third place in Russia for years ago, but they will need to find their feet fast when they take on the team that - on paper at least - should prove their sternest test in the group when they take on Croatia on Wednesday.