Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ENGLAND SECOND BEST
So Southgate’s B team lost to Martinez’s B team but may just have ended up in the easier side of the draw
IT was one of the most bizarre World Cup matches you are ever likely to see.
And ultimately, Gareth Southgate was not too disappointed with the outcome, even if fans in the stadium might not agree.
England are off to Moscow for a last-16 showdown with Colombia on Tuesday and, if they win, then it is Sweden or Switzerland in the quarters rather than Brazil or Mexico.
See? If we are struggling to work out whether it was better to win Group G or finish second, then imagine what it was like for the players, let alone the managers. In truth, England and Belgium both played as if they were not sure whether they really wanted to win or not. And the outcome was a lukewarm contest lacking passion and intensity. It felt a world away from being the crunch match we have spent the last six months building up as the group decider.
Instead, Southgate and his opposite number Roberto Martinez sent out their respective ‘B teams’ and with them a message that it was not really that important after all.
So many of these England and Belgium players are team-mates at club level and hugged each other before the game, at half time, and afterwards too. That told its own story.
The fans booed the teams off at the break after a poor first half. Belgium supporters cheered when their players got booked while the game was still goalless, as it would have meant them finishing second by virtue of having more yellow cards. Even more revealing was that when Adnan Januzaj – remember him? – scored, Martinez stood rooted to the spot, showing the minimum of emotion.
Januzaj’s 51st-minute winner was a cracker that must have left Sunderland fans wondering where on earth it came from, a memory of his earlier Manchester United career before that also petered out in disappointment.
But after some of the best and most dramatic group matches we have ever seen at a World Cup, this felt like an anticlimax. Yes, England are through, but the feeling of apathy was overwhelming.
That was always bound to happen after Southgate made eight changes and also used players who have not played competitive games for more than a fortnight. Maybe that explained why Eric Dier was so ring rusty and why Danny Rose allowed Januzaj so much space to pick his spot, before hitting a shot into the top corner.
Trent Alexander-arnold was England’s best player at right wingback, John Stones (one of three survivors, along with Jordan Pickford and Ruben Loftus-cheek, from the heady 6-1 win over Panama) went off at half time and needed treatment on his calf on a night of mixed fortunes.
Marcus Rashford had England’s best chance after 66 minutes, Jamie Vardy’s lovely reverse pass put the Manchester United forward clean through but he wasted the chance.
Rashford’s shot lacked conviction and Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois’s fingertips pushed the ball round the post for a corner.
It looked like it was going wide
anyway. It’s fair to say that Raheem Sterling will be straight back into the starting line-up to face Colombia.
In fact, Southgate can pretty much pick his XI now. Dele Alli will come straight back, Harry Kane has had the rest he definitely did not want, and the rest pretty much pick themselves.
The only other worry was Pickford (left) who might have done better on the goal, his handling was sloppy and distribution even worse. That is the problem when you tell players that winning is not everything by picking a weakened team.
Southgate played dream maker by giving his players a run-out in the World Cup, got the last-16 tie that Belgium wanted, but may just have lost some of the Three Lions’ positive momentum in the process.