Belgium were second best throughout much of their match against Canada but walked away as 1-0 winners thanks to Michy Batshuayi’s first-half strike.
A bright start from the Canadians was rewarded after less than 10 minutes of play when Yannick Carrasco is judged to have used his arm to block Tajon Buchanan’s shot in the penalty area.
Alphonso Davies stepped up from the spot but the Bayern Munich defender’s tame effort was denied by an excellent save from Thibaut Courtois low to his right-hand side.
Canada were unable to capitalise on their first-half dominance before being caught out by a simple ball over the top of the defence as Batshuayi spun in behind Kamal Miller and, on the half-volley, sent a powerful shot beyond the diving Milan Borjan.
Despite maintaining pressure throughout the second period, Canada struggled to fashion clear goal scoring opportunities as an unconvincing Belgium held on to win their opening game.