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Belgium clinch bronze with clinical defeat of England

Eden Hazard in Belgium colours. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
14th July, 2018
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The World Cup playoff for third-place is usually full of goals as both sides have nothing to really play for, and it certainly started off that way.

Nacer Chadli’s ball across goal found the boot of Thomas Meunier who put the Belgians ahead just four minutes into the game.

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From there both sides enjoyed spells in possession but the half never really got going, with both sides not playing with the skill and ability that they’d demonstrated earlier in the tournament.

England had their chances but Belgium still looked the most likely, although they went to half time leading by a single goal.

The second half saw Belgium sit back and look to counter as England put more and more pressure on. While it was not fluent at times, the Three Lions showed glimpses of the side that surprised plenty to run through the tournament to the semi-final stages.

As the game wore on, England came close on a few occasions but it was the Belgians that would find the net again.

Inside the final ten minutes it was Belgium’s midfield duo who combined to put the game beyond doubt.

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Kevin De Bruyne put a picture perfect through ball towards Eden Hazard who made no mistake, slamming the ball into the back of the next late into the game. The Chelsea man had been heavily criticised after his side’s loss to France and would have been pleased to banish England, including many of his club teammates.

It was enough to get Belgium over the line as they recorded a third-place finish – their best ever at a World Cup. For England, despite the loss it remains their best ever result on foreign soil. England’s best World Cup result came in 1966, where they won the tournament at home.

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