England brings on Man UTD duo Rashford and Lingaard for the 2nd half. 45 minutes to go in the battle of the EPL elite. Alderweireld denies his Spurs teammate with a fantastic goal-line clearance. Dier charges down the right and chips the onrushing Courtois. Toby slides and clears the ball just as it seemed the Three Lions had got their equalizer. Superb from the Belgian.
Maguire heads into the side netting. Trippier’s delivery from the left is good as usual and the Leicester defender climbs over Kompany but can’t direct the ball towards goal.
Munier almost scores a 2nd. Belgium cut through England again with a classic counter led by KDB through the middle. The Man City man passes the ball to Mertens on the left who plays an ariel pass to Munier. The fullback takes a first time shot and it is acrobatically saved by Pickford.
De Bruyne to Hazard and Goal. Oh, all the Chelsea fans must still be rueing that transfer to Wolfsburg. They would’ve been treated to this week in and week out. KDB sends Hazard through on goal and he steps inside and beats Pickford at the near post.
Belgium has taken the bronze medal, they very least they deserve from a strong campaign. England finishes fourth, equalling their best ever achievement at an overseas World Cup and surpassing all reasonable people’s pre-tournament predictions.
Having said that, given how the draw panned out, this was a par result. Beyond results, however, they played and acted with a personality that rekindled their country’s affection for their national team and that will be the abiding memory for them from the 2018 World Cup.
Source: News365coza
