England Hopes To Salvage Pride, Belgium Looking For Their Best World Cup

BELGIUM-ENGLAND

With their dream of entering a World Cup final dashed by stronger rivals, Belgium and England now look into the play-off for third place in Saint Petersburg Stadium tonight.

The two neighboring European teams’ journey at Russia 2018 has been filled with an array of unforgettable performances.

England manager Gareth Southgate admits the World Cup third-place play-off is a game that no team wants to play, but the match against Belgium offers the chance to finish the tournament on a winning note, and achieve their best finish since they won the title in 1966.

England skipper Harry Kane is in line to win the Golden Boot being the tournament’s top scorer so far on six goals, while Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku has scored four.

A victory is inevitable for the Three Lions to lift their disappointed heads after suffering a painful 2-1 loss to Croatia after extra-time in the Semi final.

On the other side, the flowing, expressive, exceptionally talented Belgium side have been touted as potential world-beaters in this tournament, but a 1-0 loss to France in the last four left them with the option to vie for the nation’s best position in a World Cup. They finished fourth in 1986.

“We want to finish on a high and these players deserve to finish on a high,” coach Roberto Martinez said about the team known as Belgian football’s “golden generation.”

The good news for the “Red Devils” is Thomas Meunier’s return to the side after suspension. They clearly hold a psychological edge after earning their thumping win over England in the group stage.

by RTTNews Staff Writer

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