England and Belgium played out a rather lacklustre third-place game, which was won by the latter, with Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard scoring on either side of the half to seal the country's best-ever result at a FIFA World Cup.
But it mattered little to them, as both teams lacked the fire with which they played their semifinals. And, quite understandably, too. As the calls for scrapping the redundant third place match gains steam, a game flooded with Premier League stars went Belgium's way, thanks to the class the side possessed in all departments.
The English defence looked dull from the start and were punished in the fourth minute, when Nacer Chadli sent a cross from the left wing to find a charging Thomas Meunier nudge the ball into the back of the net. Romelu Lukaku, whose through ball had found Chadli was having an impressive opening half, creating chances for his teammates.
At the other end, Harry Kane had yet another below-par performance. In the 24th minute, he received a ball from Sterling and had a shot at goal, but he was under pressure from Kompany and hit it wide. It took some time for the English to regain some stability, as the Belgium attackers continued to find gaps in the opposition's defence.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek seemed to be the lone bright spark for England with some cheeky runs into the box, some calculated forward passes and several individual attempts at goal, making him look a lot like Yaya Toure throughout the game.
Both managers had made several modifications to their starting lineups that played the semifinals. Gareth Southgate made five changes, playing a side that looked far from his best XI, while Roberto Martinez made two changes, fielding perhaps his strongest side.
Southgate made a double substitution at half time, bringing on the Manchester United pair of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford for Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling. Lingard's impact on the game was almost instantaneous, as he spent the rest of the half using his speed to good effect. England probed and pressed but could not move far.
Ten minutes after the start of the second period, a chance for Lukaku brightened the game. Unmarked, he received a ball inside the box from Kevin De Bruyne that had sliced through the English defence. The striker had a heavy first touch, before Jordan Pickford came forward and collected it. He was taken off shortly later, making way for quick-footed Dries Mertens.
Eric Dier then got the best chance of the game in the 70th minute, when he played a one-two with Rashford and was face-to-face with Thibaut Courtois. Dier dinked the ball over the keeper, but the ball was brilliantly cleared off the goal line by the midfielder's Tottenham teammate Toby Alderweireld.
Eden Hazard dribbled his way around the defenders all game, to a point when John Stones was booked for pulling him down near the half line on a counter attack. It was the Chelsea attacker who eventually put the icing on the Belgium cake with the second goal 10 minutes from time, when De Bruyne fed him the ball and he sped away. Jordan Pickford was helpless as the Belgium captain smacked the ball hard and low to the left corner before wheeling away in celebration.
Before the game, Belgium had scored 14 goals this tournament, and was the only team with a 100 per cent record until they met France in the semifinal. They added two more to their goal tally and are the highest scoring team at the event.
The English controlled possession for much of the game as the Belgians took a more cautious approach, choosing to play the counter attacking game that produced so many beautiful goals for them this tournament. England passed the ball around well and tried their best to crack open the Belgium defence, but it proved to be a hard task.
The Belgium players received their bronze medals at the end of a game that felt more like a regular league game—or even a friendly—as both sets of players passed and moved around the pitch with little intent. Belgium made history, though, and Roberto Martinez will receive the credit he deserves for bringing the “golden generation” this far.
