FIFA World Cup
World Cup 2018: England vs Belgium Preview
Kaliningrad, Russia – The Three Lions and Red Devils face off at the Kaliningrad Stadium, knowing that whoever emerges victorious in the game will top Group G en-route to the last 16. Both England and Belgium have already qualified for the round of 16 with decisive victories over both Panama and Tunisia.
Current Form:
The two sides won both their opening fixtures against Tunisia and Panama – Belgium coming off the back of a 5-2 victory over Tunisia while England wowed the world with an emphatic 6-1 win over Panama.
Previous Encounters:
This will be the third meeting between England and Belgium at the World Cup, with England so far unbeaten in their encounters. They drew 4-4 in 1954 and England won 1-0 in the second round in 1990, with a volley from David Platt. Belgium have won just one of their 21 meetings with England (D5 L15) – a 3-2 victory in May 1936.
View From Both Camps:
England manager Gareth Southgate : “I don’t think the style of how we play should change. You are going to face different sorts of tests and challenges, but the way we want to play won’t change.
When we are attacking we just have to be more alert to counter-attacks and when we are defending, we have got to make sure our individual and collective defending is at a really high level.”
Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez : “The difficulty that we have in Belgium is that we have too many players that deserve to win the World Cup.
Anyone could play. If that’s the case, they need to be ready, to be ambassadors of our game in Belgium. We need to create momentum in the squad.”
Team News:
Three Lions midfielder Dele Alli, who suffered a muscle problem against Tunisia, trained on Wednesday but is unlikely to be risked. Marcus Rashford and Gary Cahill could earn recalls, and Eric Dier will start.
Kevin de Bruyne, Thomas Meunier and Jan Vertonghen are a booking away from a ban and unlikely to play for Belgium.
Potential Lineups:
England (3-5-2): Jordan Pickford; Phil Jones, John Stones, Gary Cahill; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Eric Dier, Jesse Lingard, Danny Rose; Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane
Belgium (3-4-2-1): Thibaut Courtois; Thomas Vermaelen, Dedryck Boyata, Toby Alderweireld; Mousa Dembele, Marouane Fellaini, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Thorgan Hazard; Youri Tielemans, Eden Hazard; Michy Batshuayi
Match Prediction:
Both sides will play for a win but know in the back of their minds that finishing second could present easier opponents in the knockout round. But if you go into a game half-baked, it could prove very costly. Both teams are even on paper and are desperate to win this match. For England and Belgium, if they win this match it turns them into contenders for the World Cup. There’s a lot resting on this game but it’s quite a struggle to split the two sides.
Prediction : England 1-1 Belgium
