England’s Three Lions ended their World Cup campaign in Russia with a 2-0 defeat by Belgium at the St Petersburg Stadium, finishing in fourth place. The England team was unable to bounce back from the events of Wednesday’s extra time loss against Croatia in the semi-finals in Moscow. In spite of its all, Gareth Southgate’s team still presented an impressive tournament for England.
Gareth Southgate brought together a young and talented squad that highly surpassed all expectations. There is no England team that has bettered the fourth place that they claimed, unexpectedly and joyously, on foreign soil. Team manager Southgate admitted that there was a gulf in quality and experience between the two squads. However, looking at the bigger picture, England’s campaign has been inspiring and regenerative, given its recent history ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
How Belgium Made it to Third Place
Thomas Meunier set Belgium ahead of its opponents just four minutes into the game when he slid in ahead of Danny Rose to divert Nacer Chadli’s cross past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. England had a window of opportunity to level the scores in the second half when Toby Alderweireld cleared off the line from Eric Dier, and Harry Maguire also headed wide from a good position.
Eden Hazard sealed the deal for Belgium with eight minutes left to the end of the game. He managed to get the better of Phil Jones to beat Pickford, who had just made an incredible save from Meunier, finishing powerfully.
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku missed two chances on the field. He was substituted without scoring and he left England captain Harry Kane in pole position to win the World Cup’s Golden Boot with 6 goals. Harry Kane will take home the award, but only if there are no impressive deeds from France duo Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe who are each on three goals and will be playing in Sunday’s final match against Croatia in Moscow at 16:00 BST.
England’s Run Comes to an End
Southgate made five changes to the team that was defeated by Croatia. There was still a clear intent to secure their best result at this year’s 21st FIFA World Cup since their 1966 championship at the tournament. This determination coupled with that of Belgium team coach Roberto Martinez made for a captivating play-off at the St Petersburg stadium.
England’s team this year, as others have before them, faced a hard time coping with the variety of Belgium’s attack. In spite of this, they were composed and with a great attitude. They had a number of chances to level the game before Hazard squished their hopes.
The third-place play-off is a fixture normally deemed as an unwanted intrusion for teams that suffered the despair of a semi-final defeat, but England and Belgium made it a competitive and lively one.
Belgium’s delightful win at the third-place play-off meant a lot. Martinez has a notably outstanding squad, and they can only get stronger from here on having gained stature on the global stage.