Belgium wins battle of reserves

KALININGRAD: It had been viewed as the game noone wanted to win but Adnan Januzaj’s fine finish early in the second half gave Belgium a 10 victory over England to secure the group G top spot in a contest between two sets of reserves.

The result means Belgium, which won all three of its group games to finish on nine points, will face Japan in the last 16 while England, which came second with six, takes on Colombia.

That gives Gareth Southgate’s England a tougher test in the second round but should it get past the South Americans, it will find itself on a much more promising path to the final.

Belgium’s side of the draw includes Brazil, which it could face in the quarterfinals, Argentina, Portugal and France.

England’s opponents are, on paper at least, easier — Sweden or Switzerland await in the last eight — and it faces less travelling should it progress.

‘‘The knockout game is the biggest game for a decade, so we had to make sure our key players were preserved,’’ Southgate, having left out captain Harry Kane among others, said.

‘‘We created openings to get something from the game, but we have to keep improving. I think the supporters know what the most important thing is,’’ he added.

Colombia’s Yerry Mina thumped home a secondhalf header to secure a dramatic 10 victory over Senegal yesterday that catapulted the South Americans into the last 16.

Senegal had needed only a point in its final group H game to reach the next round, but it will head home after missing out on the runnerspot to Japan because it had a worse disciplinary record.

It was the first time in World

Sunday

2am: France v Argentina

6am: Uruguay v Portugal

Monday

2am: Spain v Russia

6am: Croatia v Denmark

Tuesday

2am: Brazil v Mexico

6am: Belgium v Japan

Wednesday

2am: Sweden v Switzerland

6am: Colombia v England

Cup history a team had been eliminated by the number of yellow cards it had accrued in the tournament.

Both Senegal and Japan, which was beaten 10 by Poland in Volgograd yesterday, finished the group with four points and an identical record in all other respects.

Japan’s advance, though, came only after a risky gamble paid off. After Colombia scored against Senegal in the 74th minute, putting qualification in Japan’s hands, coach Akira Nishino ordered his players to take no risks, an approach that slowed the game and earned resounding boos from the crowd.

‘‘I decided that I was going to rely on the other match’s result. We were not happy about the situation, of course. It was not intentional . . . However, it was a very tough and risky situation,’’ Nishino said.

Secondhalf goals by Fakhreddine Ben Yousseff and Wahbi Khazri gave Tunisia a 21 victory over Panama in its final group G match in Saransk yesterday and secured the North Africans their first World Cup finals win in 40 years.

The result brought some vindication for Tunisia, which coach Nabil Maaloul had admitted before the game was demoralised after its defeats by England and Belgium. — Reuters