The reaching of the World Cup finals proved to be a bridge too far for both Belgium and England. There remains both countries, who also met each other in the group phase, so nothing but the comfort finale of Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg. The eternal fame therefore passes by the Belgian and English noses, but this duel does offer the last chance to be on the podium.
Belgium:
Immediately after the lost semi-final against France (1-0), Thierry Courtois, the father of goalkeeper Thibaut, said that many people would have thought: “In retrospect, it might have been wiser to not win that last group match against England.” As a sportsman you always want to win everything, but because of that 1-0 victory in the last group match on the English, the Belgians as group winner ended up on the heaviest side of the knockout schedule. The Red Devils managed to conquer the global football hearts with a real thriller against Japan (3-2 win, after a 0-2 deficit) and an absolute top match of Kevin De Bruyne against Brazil (1-2 win). With France, Belgium ran into a title favorite again in the semi-finals, but in that tactical jousting, the team of national coach Roberto Martinez pulled the short straw. The Belgian fans have received this World Cup although many memorable matches were presented, but if the country in Group G was in second place, the country with Colombia, Sweden and Croatia as opponents had a lot easier course towards the final.
The disappointment after the lost semi-finals was obviously big, but Belgium already has her back. “The third place is now the minimum goal,” says Thomas Meunier. “We have already defeated the English in the group phase, so that should be possible now.” If that succeeds, the Belgians still write World Cup history. Once before, in 1986 they also played a consolation final, but they lost 4-2 against neighboring France. Martinez, however, seems to take the Saturday afternoon game a little less seriously and seems to be planning to bring various reserves to the kickoff. On the basis of the training, players like Youri Tielemans, Meunier, Thomas Vermaelen and Michy Batshuayi can hope for a basic place, although it is unclear who should make room for them.
England:
For years England was a bit of a laughing stock of the big tournaments. Almost every European Championship and World Cup the expectations around the English were again high, but each time The Three Lions could pack their bags early. However, this seemed to be the World Cup of England. Harry Kane scored on the assembly line and the country even managed to deal with their penalty syndrome against Sweden. English football fans certainly knew: ‘It’s coming home!’ Also in the semi-final against Croatia, England was soon on roses after a pretty free kick by Kieran Trippier, but after the tea Luka Modric and associates threw a spanner in the works. The English did not surpass the Croatian equalizer and went into the 2-1 win in the extra time.
Despite the bitter pill in the semifinals, the pride also prevails among the English. Beforehand no one expected the country to come this far, plus there was passing judgment with the penalty syndrome that the English had been pursuing for years. In addition, England against Panama (6-1) achieved her biggest World Cup victory ever and with a total of twelve World Cup goals scored even more than ever at a World Cup. Even during the World Cup win of 1966 England scored less often than in this edition. After years of setbacks, the country now has an excellent generation that can last for years, so it may well be possible to raise it again in four years in Qatar.
A possible third place for England would be the best World Cup performance since 1966, but the battle of Tuesday night has left quite some traces. The British were nearly on their toes in the extension and even ended the game against Croatia with ten men because Kieran Trippier could not continue. The expectation is that Southgate will rotate on Saturday afternoon. Chances are that we will see players like Jack Butland, Gary Cahill, Trent Alxander-Arnold, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jamie Vardy in St. Petersburg in action.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1.48
