Belgium was far from their best in their 1-0 success over Canada on Wednesday night. However, a win is a win, and that will be what matters most to Roberto Martinez’s side. Here are three conclusions the Red Devils can take.



Playing from minute one



The Belgians did not start the game well at all. They were under the kosh from the first whistle and, bar Michy Batshuayi’s goal on the stroke of half time, rarely threatened Canada. They were badly outplayed in the first 15 minutes and could easily count themselves lucky not to have been behind early on.



While they did wake up a bit more after that, that is something will have to be improved upon. In matches against the biggest countries, such an effort will not be enough. A more clinical team would likely had ripped them apart.



Making the most of their chance



Unlike their opponents, Belgium did do their job in scoring the goal. They only had three shots on target in the 90 minutes but it was enough for them to score. While they were the second best team on the pitch, they managed to do the one thing Canada could not, which was score.

Outside of that, they did still cause concern for Canada's backline every time they went forward. Slightly better decision making would have led to another goal ir two. So, while the performance was not up to expectations, the Red Devils still did what ended up mattering the most.



Questionable at the back?



Yes, a win is a win. At the same time, there were still many errors defensively. They are fortunate not to have conceded at least one more penalty in the first half.



Pretty much every time Canada went forward, especially in the opening period, they could have scored. That spells a dangerous precedent for Belgium going forward.