Belgium defeats England for third; both look ahead

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — For Belgium and England, the World Cup’s third-place match was akin to a dress rehearsal for future finals at major tournaments.

That’s their hope, at least. Belgium earned its best World Cup finish by beating England 2-0 Saturday in a match both saw as the start of a push for the 2020 European Championship and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“With this winning mentality, you can win trophies,” said Eden Hazard, who scored Belgium’s second goal. “In two years, in four years, we will be better. We have young players. They are very good also in the team. They push all of us.”

Thomas Meunier and Hazard scored at St. Petersburg Stadium in a match between the two semifinal losers after Belgium lost 1-0 to France on Tuesday and England lost 2-1 to Croatia in extra time Wednesday.

England matched its best World Cup result — fourth in 1990 — since winning the tournament for the only time in 1966.

“Today shows there’s room for improvement. We’re not the finished article. We’re still learning. We’re still getting better,” England striker Harry Kane said. “We don’t want to wait another 20-odd years to get into another major semifinal.”

Each team in the consolation final was playing for the seventh time in 26 days, but the Belgians entered with an extra day of rest.

Meunier’s goal matched a World Cup record as Belgium had 10 players score in the tournament, something only done before by France in 1982 and Italy in 2006.

Meunier scored in the fourth minute, knocking a cross from Nacer Chadli past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Hazard added the other goal off a pass from Kevin De Bruyne in the 82nd.

Toby Alderweireld denied England’s best chance of the game, sliding on the goal line to clear a shot from Eric Dier.

Belgium’s previous best finish at the World Cup was fourth, but it outplayed England in the midfield to go one better this time.

The Belgians could easily have scored more, with Pickford making a good save to stop a shot from De Bruyne in the 11th and Alderweireld volleying narrowly over the bar in the 35th.

England made set pieces the cornerstone of its run to the World Cup semifinals and created chances for headers by Harry Maguire and Dier in the second half against Belgium, but neither hit the target.

The next major tournament on the calendar for both nations is the 2020 European Championship, which will be played at venues across the continent but with the semifinals and finals in London at Wembley Stadium.

England defender John Stones said that could be a boost after the surprise run to the semifinals in Russia prompted a surge in support for the team at home. Southgate noted England still has a long way to go.

“We’ve finished in the top four, but we’re not a top-four team yet,” coach Gareth Southgate said. “Against the very best teams, we’ve come up short.”