Sport

England vs Belgium preview

Over £50 Million of prizes across Russia 2018. 18+

When the draw was made for the World Cup, it was always likely that England and Belgium would go into the final Group G game already assured of their places in the last 16.

And so it’s proved. England left it late to get past Tunisia 2-1 but, riding that wave of positivity, came out and thrashed Panama 6-1.

Belgium started sluggishly against the Panamanians before turning on the style to win 3-0 and then showed their obvious class in a wide-open game against Tunisia and cruised to a 5-2 success.

Despite the flurry of goals, somehow it emerged that both England and Belgium ended up scoring eight and conceding two.

Same points, same goal difference, same amount of goals scored. The fact that England go into their clash in Kaliningrad on Thursday as group leaders is due to Gareth Southgate’s men having a slightly better disciplinary record. They’ve picked up just two yellows to Belgium’s three.

Had this been a last 16 game or quarter-final, we’d have had a fascinating duel between two sides boasting juggernaut strikeforces. In the race for the Golden Boot, Harry Kane leads the way with five, while Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku is second alongside Cristiano Ronaldo with four. Eden Hazard has also chipped in with two.

And yet, if all the hints coming out of the Belgium camp are true, Lukaku and Hazard will be rested for the more important tests ahead while Kevin De Bruyne, who is on a yellow card, is likely to be protected too.

England are expected to make less changes but leaving Kane on the bench could be one of them. Don’t be surprised if the heavyweight encounter between Kane and Lukaku is substituted for the more cruiserweight contest of Vardy v Batshuayi.

And, of course, there’s all the conspiracy theories about England trying to manipulate the draw by deliberately finishing second and supposedly finding an easier route to the last four.

They’d need to lose for that to happen and, as Southgate says, that’s a dangerous path to tread given that a tournament is about building momentum. Defeat, in whatever circumstances, sends out the wrong message.

So the conundrum is this? Does a weakened England team beat a very weakened Belgium team (presuming the team news hints are correct)?

The betting has flipped in anticipation of the likely starting XIs, with England now very marginal favourites.

Multiple changes can lead to a disruption of rhythm and I’m leaning towards a low-scoring draw, a result that would mean England top the group providing they don’t pick up more yellows than Belgium.

Then again, six of England’s goals at this World Cup have come from set-pieces while seven of Belgium’s were created from open play.

Perhaps one of our big lads will head one in from a corner and settle it that way!

Over £50 Million of prizes across Russia 2018. 18+