Colombia on deck for England after defeat
Knockout-round matchups set, Belgium faces tougher route starting with date vs. Japan
KALININGRAD, RUSSIA— England and Belgium played a so-called dead rubber in this Russian exclave Thursday night.
A dead rubber is a soccer match that is of no real consequence to the teams involved, and this was the happy sort since both England and Belgium had already qualified for the knockout round of the World Cup. Both teams easily dispatched their first two opponents, the vastly overmatched Tunisia and Panama, without much stress or providing real insight into how good either might be. Then Belgium topped England 1-0, in a game that was more gentlemen’s kickaround than World Cup match. So the mystery continued.
There was something at stake, though: First place in Group G went to Belgium, which means a round-of-16 game against Japan but a potential quarterfinal against Brazil on the loaded side of the knockout bracket. Second-place England gets what appears to be, on paper, a far easier path to the semifinals on its side of the pairings, starting with a match against Colombia on Tuesday in Moscow.
After the loss, England coach Gareth Southgate called the upcoming Colombia match “the biggest game in a decade” for England. “We’ve got to just keep improving,” he said. “We talked about momentum. Momentum shifts in games and I think we kept pressing right to the end.”
England and Belgium occasionally played fast Thursday, but they did not play very hard.
The game was largely devoid of contact. No one ran through tackles or threw elbows battling for position on corner kicks. England made eight changes to its starting lineup, Belgium nine. For both teams, the mindset seemed to be that the real World Cup would begin at the final whistle.
The lone goal arrived in the 52nd minute.
Belgium striker Adnan Januzaj performed some fancy footwork to get free of Danny Rose on the right side, just inside England’s penalty area, and curled left-footed shot past a splayed Jordan Pickford.
England had a few chances but never answered. Marcus Rashford misfired on a breakaway that could have tied the score midway through the second half, then barely shrugged.
Entering play in Russia, Belgium had assumed the role of sexy dark horse — a star-studded team led by Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City and Eden Hazard of Chelsea — that had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals. England was viewed as a work in progress, a young team trying to change its culture from sullen, strategically-challenged underachievers to fearless lovers of the game.
Which one is better, or good enough to go deep into the knockout rounds? That remains anyone’s guess. Both teams poured in goals against Tunisia and Panama, but that was Tunisia and Panama. Thursday’s match, contested mostly by reserves, offered few clues to what lies ahead, and what might be possible.
Thomas Vermaelen, the Belgium defender, said he has always considered his team “outsiders with an opportunity to win.” Southgate said England could not consider itself “a top team until we start to beat some of those top teams.”
In other words, these teams have no idea who they are yet, either. But there is enough hope to stretch across the Strait of Dover, which separates their countries. Here is a sampling:
WHY ENGLAND WILL WIN THE WORLD CUP
SET PIECES: England came in to this tournament without a goal from a corner kick in 72 attempts at major tournaments, dating to 2010. Southgate, who took over the team in 2016, had the revolutionary idea of practising them — a lot. So far, so good. England has four goals off corner kicks.
HEALTHY AND YOUNG: So much of making it through the World Cup is keeping your most important players fresh and available. Without having to worry about beating Belgium, Southgate rested key players and give his reserves, including midfielder Eric Dier, a chance to stay sharp.
HARRY KANE: The Tottenham striker is not Cristiano Ronaldo, but England’s captain scored 41 goals in 48 appearances for Spurs last season and has five goals in two games in Russia, making him the tournament’s top scorer even though he rested Thursday. Kane basically scores every game these days.
WHY BELGIUM WILL WIN THE WORLD CUP
COUNTLESS WEAPONS: Pick your poison. Do opponents want to focus their defensive energy on stopping Hazard or De Bruyne or Romelu Lukaku, assuming he recovers from an ankle injury? NO PANIC: Belgium can win slow or fast. The Red Devils played 70 minutes without scoring in their first match against Panama. They remained patient and methodical. They didn’t rush and eventually figured out how to break down what often became a back line of five or six defenders. Then they got a first score and two more in the final 20 minutes. Against Tunisia, Belgium had two goals in the first16 minutes and three more before it was through. IT’S THEIR TIME: This is a golden generation of Belgian players, a diverse mix that reflects an increasingly diverse country. And mostly the best players are all in their mid- and late 20s, the age at which soccer players generally enter their prime.