England 0 – 1 Belgium: Januzaj magic settles Group G as England settle for second best
A beautifully curled finish from Adnan Januzaj settled Group G as the World Cup group stage concluded last night.
Both managers heavily rotated their lineups with progression already guaranteed, with Belgium edging the match, overally.
The victory earned the Red Devils a match up with Japan on Monday night in Rostov, with a potential Brazil fixture to come. England couldn’t match previous performances and will play Colombia on Tuesday at the Otkritie Arena.
Both managers Roberto Martinez and Gareth Southgate were aware of their respective nations progression, and therefore sprung the changes. The Belgium manager only retained Thibaut Courtois and Dedryck Boyata, and gave opportunities to other fringe players. This included Januzaj, Michy Batshuayi and even Nacer Chadli.
Southgate made eight changes, whilst only Jordan Pickford, John Stones and Ruben Loftus Cheek were kept in the team. Eric Dier captained the side.
The first half was uninspired
The first half was uninspired and both sides struggled to create clear openings on goal. England started the second half relatively well but it was Belgium who scored the only goal of the game in the 51st minute.
Youri Tielemans picked the ball up just outside the area, and switched it out to Adnan Januzaj, on the far right. The youngster ventured in the area, cut inside away from Danny Rose, and curled the ball high into the top left corner. The despairing Jordan Pickford could not reach it.
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Marcus Rashford had England’s best opportunity to equalise midway into the second half. Jamie Vardy gathered the ball deep in the Belgian half. The striker turned quickly, and directed an accurate through ball, low for Rashford. However, he slid the ball wide, beyond the far right post, with a low strike. Courtois managed to get a touch, but the exciting prospect should have finished it.
England came close again late on and Danny Welbeck almost scored after coming on as a substitute. An England corner was punched by Courtois and the ball fell to Welbeck inside the penalty area. He guided the ball towards the bottom right corner but Fellaini managed to deflect it wide.
Belgium came close to doubling their lead towards the end, as Dries Mertens went close. Eden Hazard and Tielemans were involved and the ball fell towards Mertens. He struck a thunderous shot on target, but was denied by Pickford who made a good save.
Another late chance saw Belgium instigate an ugly goal line scramble, but ultimately, they couldn’t force the ball in. The scramble led to Fellaini trying to force it home but Gary Cahill was fouled in the process.
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The match ended – Belgium top Group G
The match ended and Belgium secured top spot in Group G, three points ahead of England.
The result set England up with a tricky round of 16 matchup against an improving Colombia side, but are now on the favourable side of the draw. A win would mean a game against either Sweden or Switzerland awaits, and Southgate can be optimistic.
For Belgium, despite the group superiority, Martinez will be cautious. A win against Japan could potentially set up a tricky fixture against Brazil in the quarter finals.