SCHEDULE | VIDEOSFT - Belgium beat England 2-0 to finish third in 2018 World CupBelgium finished third in the World Cup, their best-ever performance, when they beat England 2-0 with an early Thomas Meunier goal and a breakaway finished by Eden Hazard in Saturday's playoff between the losing semi-finalists. Meunier finished off a devastating move when he turned in Nacer Chadli's low cross at the far post in the fourth minute after Romelu Lukaku's pass sliced open the English defence.
90+3' - Yellow Card! Axel Witsel booked
90' - Three minutes added as stoppage time
89' - Time is running out for England. And Belgium looked certain for their best finish in the World Cups.
84' - Substitution! Third change for England: Ruben Loftus-Cheek is replaced by Dele Alli.
82' - GOAL! Eden Hazard doubled the lead for BelgiumThis time Jordan Pickford was beaten as Hazard coolly shot it into the near post net to double the lead. Kevin de Bruyne with the assist.
79' - SAVE! Thomas Meunier's thunderous volley from the right of the England box was cleared out by a diving Jordan Pickford. What a move from Belgium. Meunier got the pass from Dries Mertens (from the left), who collected the through pass from Kevin de Bruyne.
78' - Substitution! Third change for Belgium: Youri Tielemans is replaced by Mousa Dembele
78' - Yellow Card! England's Harry Maguire booked for dissent
74' - Free-kick for England. Kieran Trippier found Harry Maguire near the far post but the defender headed it wide of Belgium goal
72' - Another corner for England. Marcus Rashford's delivery was headed out for an England throw-in
71' - The resultant corner delivered by Kieran Trippier was headed out easily by Belgium
70' - SAVE! Eric Dier won the battle with Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois but Toby Alderweireld cleared it from the goal line. UNLUCKY
68' - Eric Dier tried a low shot from distance which needed a dive from Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois to collect it
65' - Corner for England. This time Kieran Trippier delivered the ball to Harry Kane, who tried a volley from the edge of Belgium area but mishit it.
63' - Vincent Kompany tried a flick in front of the England goal. Cleared out by the defenders
62' - Corner for Belgium. It ended with another corner.
60' - Substitution! Change for Belgium: Romelu Lukaku is replaced by Dries Mertens
59' - Fabian Delph's cross in into the Belgium box was long and collected by Thibaut Courtois comfortably
54' - MISSED! Half chance for Harry Kane, but the striker failed to touch the ball in front of the Belgium goal. Jesse Lingard volleyed the cross in from the right
52' - Yellow Card! England's John Stones booked for a foul on Eden Hazard
51' - Free-kick for England. Kieran Trippier curled it into the middle of Belgium box and it ended with a corner for England. Thibaut Courtois charged out to collect the ball calmly from the set piece
49' - Good build-up game by England near the Belgium area, but the final cross in by Kieran Trippier was latched up by Thibaut Courtois easily
47' - Ruben Loftus-Cheek made a run into the Belgium box but the defenders were alert and it ended with a goal kick.
46' - Substitutions! Double change for England:
IN - Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford |
OUT - Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling
Second half underway...
HT - Belgium lead England 1-0 at the halftime breakBelgium led England 1-0 after a lively opening 45 minutes in the third-place play-off thanks to a fourth-minute goal from Thomas Meunier. Meunier turned in Nacer Chadli's low cross from close range after Romelu Lukaku's pass had sliced open the England defence. Belgium produced some flowing moves and always looked dangerous while England also threatened, with Harry Kane firing wide after being set up by Raheem Sterling.
45+2' - Romelu Lukaku's shot was deflected out by John Stones for a Belgium corner. But the ref blew the halftime whistle before the set piece was taken
45' - Two minutes added as stoppage time
45' - Good run from Belgium again. De Bruyne cross it to Meunier on the right but the final cross in into the middle of the England box was cleared out.
39' - Substitution! Forced change for Belgium: Nacer Chadli is replaced by Thomas Vermaelen
39' - Nacer Chadli's delivery was headed out by England defenders easily
39' - Belgium on the counter. Kevin de Bruyne lopped it into the middle of England box, which was headed out for a corner for Belgium
35' - Kevin de Bruyne crossed it low to the edge of the England box from the set piece and Youri Tielemans mishit it from there . The ball lopped into the box and Toby Alderweireld tried an overhead kick which went just over the England goal
34' - Eden Hazard's shot was blocked out by John Stomes. It's the first corner for Belgium
32' - Eric Dier's cross in into the Belgium area was cleared out easily
28' - Thomas Meunier's cross in from the right flank was tad long for Lukaku, who charged into the middle of England box
27' - England winning the possession game but Belgium look more threatening in their attacking moves
23' - MISSED! Harry Kane shot it wide from the top of the Belgium box. He got the ball in the middle of the area from Raheem Stirling on the left
19' - Corner for England. Harry Maguire with the header, but it went straight to Belgium keeper Courtois.
17' - MISSED! Kevin de Bruyne found Romelu Lukaku inside the England box with a brilliant through pass, but the striker's first touch was tad heavy and Jordan Pickford charged out to collect it safely.
15' - Ruben Loftus-Cheek's header was straight to Thibaut Courtois, who collected the ball comfortably. Good move from England
12' - SAVE! Jordan Pickford palmed the ball away to deny Kevin de Bruyne. De Bruyne got the ball inside the England box from Romelu Lukaku, but the attempt was a weak one.
9' - Free-kick for England from distance. Kieran Trippier's delivery was long and Courtois collected it calmly
7' - Attack by England from the right flank, but the final touch was heavy and it ended with an easy collection of the ball by Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois
4' - GOAL! Thomas Meunier put Belgium in the leadThomas Meunier, who returned from suspension, scored early to put Belgium in the lead. It was the first attack of the match so far and Belgium scored their 15th of the tournament. It was the quickest goal conceded by England in World Cups. Nacer Chadli with the assist.
Here we go....
KICK-OFF TIMEPlayers are out in the field. And it's time for National Anthems.
Starting line-upsBelgium (3-4-3): Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen; Thomas Meunier, Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans, Nacer Chadli; Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard (capt).
Coach: Roberto Martinez (ESP)
England (3-5-2): Jordan Pickford; Phil Jones, John Stones, Harry Maguire; Kieran Trippier, Eric Dier, Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Danny Rose; Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane (capt).
Coach: Gareth Southgate (ENG)
Referee: Alireza Faghani (IRI)
TEAM NEWSEngland manager Gareth Southgate made five changes to his team for World Cup third-place play-off against Belgium but the tournament's top scorer Harry Kane starts. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Eric Dier, Phil Jones, Danny Rose and Fabian Delph all come into the starting line-up after beginning on the bench in the semi-final defeat to Croatia. Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson are all dropped to the bench by Southgate. Kane, who with six goals is favourite for the Golden Boot, will start alongside Raheem Sterling.
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez made two changes with Thomas Meunier returning from suspension and Youri Tielemans given a start. Midfielders Mousa Dembele and Marouane Fellaini make way.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the third-place play-off between Belgium and England. The match starts at 19:30 IST.