At 21:00, the final group stage matches were played at the World Cup. In Group G, England met Belgium in the final showdown. In the battle for first place, the Belgians narrowly defeated their opponents from England. In the 5th minute, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had to work hard when young Youri Tielemans struck a powerful shot from distance towards the goal. The first 20 minutes were quite calm - the teams exchanged a few dangerous moments, but overall, a fairly peaceful game prevailed without posing a serious threat to either team's goal. For the remainder of the first half, there were no more serious episodes - the Belgians dominated possession and had the advantage in their hands, but they did not find any gaps in England's defense. The second half began with Adnan Januzaj's "bomb" - in the 51st minute, the "Real Sociedad" forward cleverly dealt with Danny Rose and his powerful shot left no chance for the opposing goalkeeper. The result was 1:0. In the 65th minute, Marcus Rashford had a real chance to equalize the score - the forward received the ball and started running towards the goalkeeper, but his shot missed the target. As the match approached its end, the English were not prepared to lose so easily - Gareth Southgate's players activated their attacking game, but Thibaut Courtois did not have to face any serious threats. In the 88th minute, Dries Mertens had a great opportunity to seal the deal in this duel, but once again, J. Pickford reacted successfully to his powerful shot. The result remained unchanged for the rest of the match and the Belgian national team secured their third consecutive victory. The English had to come to terms with failure and second place in the group. The "Lions" will face Colombia in the round of 16, while the Belgians will face the Japanese. Result: England 0 - 1 Belgium 51' [0 - 1] A. Januzaj
The final two matches of the group stage are soon upon us...
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 28, 2018
Here are the teams for #ENGBEL!#ENG #BEL pic.com/rvom0sQ4Ru
Confirmation, in case it's needed.
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 28, 2018
The 2018 #WorldCup group phase.......is complete. pic.com/DFOGEQknnM
