Belgium and England national teams have already met once in the World Cup in Russia during the group stage, but the price of Saturday's match in St. Petersburg is incomparably higher. Not considered favorites of the tournament, but having surprised many teams, they will clash for third place. You can watch the match from 16.45 on LRT.
Both national teams will have to regroup after their losses in the semi-finals and fight for third place. Often, such matches are criticized for being meaningless.
"The match for third place is definitely not the one teams want to play. Of course, we want to win and we will be ready to do it, but it's a little too early to think about it," immediately after the loss in the semi-final to Croatia, England national team coach Gareth Southgate said.
Similarly, Belgium national team coach Roberto Martinez responded to journalists' questions after the loss to France: "At this moment, it's hard to manage emotions, because we are disappointed with the semi-final loss and it will be very difficult to stay positive for the remaining matches."
However, the coach emphasized at that time that it will still be a historic chance for Belgium, which only fought for third place in 1986, but then lost to France and remained fourth. England also fought for third place in 1990, and won against Italy.
For the first time in the championship in Russia, teams that had already played against each other in the group stage will meet. Both teams had already secured their place in the quarter-finals. That match was characterized by Southgate making eight changes in the starting lineup compared to previous matches, while Martinez made nine. Only the goalkeepers remained from the main lineup.
Belgium won that match 1-0, but this result cannot be considered proof that Belgium is stronger than England.
In the other group stage matches, Belgians and English celebrated victories: Belgians beat Panama 3-0, then beat Tunisia 5-2. England's national team had difficulty against Tunisia and only scored a second goal in injury time, securing a 2-1 win. The match against Panama's team was easier and the "Three Lions" won with a score of 6-1.
Blinded by a good performance in the group stage, Belgians seemed to believe they were invincible, but the round of 16 match opened their eyes - they barely survived the match against Japan. Belgium showed excellent attacking skills and triumphed after getting a ticket to the semi-final by neutralizing their most dangerous players. Belgium's victorious journey ended in the semi-finals when they lost 1-0 to France. After the match, Belgians were irritated that the French team played anti-football.
England faced Colombia in the round of 16. The main match ended in a draw, and the quarter-final was only open to England after a successful penalty shootout. In the quarter-finals, Southgate's team showed their abilities against the Swedish team, leaving no doubt that they deserved a spot in the semi-final. However, England encountered difficulties there, as although the "Three Lions" were leading 1-0 after the first half, the Croats managed to equalize during regular time, and even overturn the result in extra time.
In this Saturday's match, one can expect a rain of goals as the tournament's top scorer Harry Kane (6 goals) meets Romelu Lukaku (4 goals) who currently holds second place. The Belgium national team has scored the most goals (14) in this tournament. Since 2002, the team that scores three goals in these matches wins the third place.
Belgium's national team may have changes, especially since Thomas Meunier will be able to play in this match after missing the game against France due to accumulated cards.
England's national team coach has more headaches and doubts that Kieran Trippier, who suffered an injury in the semi-finals, will be able to start on Saturday. Jordan Henderson and Ashley Young are also being monitored. Southgate hopes that most of the players will recover and there will be as few changes as possible in the starting lineup.
Possible starting lineups:
Belgium: Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Nacer Chadli, Thomas Meunier, Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku
England: Jordan Pickford, Trent Alexander-Arnold, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Gary Cahill, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Eric Dier, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane
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