Belgium, England set for third-place match
MOSCOW — England defender Kyle Walker sees meaning in a soccer game that prevailing wisdom says no one wants to play.
The third-place match at the World Cup is often dismissed as a pointless way for FIFA to fill TV time with two teams who just want to go home after losing in the semifinals. But for Walker, a bronze medal still had value with England set to face Belgium today in St. Petersburg.
“It’s still something massively to play for, to be the third-best team in the world,” Walker said after Wednesday’s 2-1 extra-time loss to Croatia. “Who would have thought it, at the start of the tournament when everyone was writing us off ? We’ve still got a very important job come Saturday — to go and beat the Belgians and get the bragging rights over them, because they beat us in the group stage.”
Belgium lost 1-0 to France in Tuesday’s semifinal in its bid for a first appearance in the World Cup final.
England and Belgium have both produced last-gasp victories this year in Russia — Belgium beat Japan 3-2 in the knockout stage’s opening round, when England topped Colombia 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw — but today’s meeting doesn’t have much more significance than their previous one.
Both had already qualified for the round of 16 when Belgium beat England 1-0 in their Group G finale on Adnan Januzaj’s curling shot. The lack of regular starters made the game more like a friendly, and much of the talk was about whether finishing first or second in the group would lead to easier games in the bracket.
Both found their way to the semifinals, though, and both came up short.
As might be expected, not everyone seems as enthusiastic as Walker about this rematch. England’s Harry Kane, the leading scorer at this World Cup with six goals, said he isn’t motivated by the chance to secure the Golden Boot for top scorer.
“It’s not something I’m really thinking about,” he said. “It’s not the game we wanted to be in, as a team. It is what it is, but we’ll try and play that game with as much pride as a team and try and finish on a high. We’re still going to be hurting.”
Belgium defender Vincent Kompany put his team’s performance in Russia into perspective.
“If we can finish third, it’s the best-ever result at the World Cup for Belgium,” he said. “People had a blast at home; they had fun. People have been celebrating, and you shouldn’t forget that — that’s what this tournament is about as well.”