A game no one wants to play

Saint Petersburg, July 13 

England manager Gareth Southgate admits the World Cup third-place play-off is a game that no team wants to play, but tomorrow’s match against Belgium offers the chance to finish the tournament on a winning note. A gut-wrenching 2-1 loss to Croatia in extra-time denied England a shot at a second World Cup triumph, instead setting up a consolation game against familiar foes Belgium.  

Roberto Martinez’s side, who were beaten 1-0 by France in the semifinals, topped Group G ahead of England after an Adnan Januzaj goal settled a low-key encounter in Kaliningrad. That game saw both the coaches heavily rotate their teams, and a similar scenario is likely in Saint Petersburg, with several fringe players pushing for a start. “The honest thing is, it’s not a game any team wants to play in,” said Southgate, whose side has drawn praise for the way it has briefly united a country bitterly divided over Brexit.

However, he insisted that will not alter England’s approach as they look to achieve their best finish since they won the competition in 1966. “We’ll want to give a performance of huge pride, there’s no question about that,” said Southgate. “Every time we wear the shirt of our national team, we want to play with pride, we want to play well and we want to win.”  

‘Important game’ 

For Belgium, many of the key players should return for the 2022 World Cup, even if Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen will probably be gone by then. Martinez can guide Belgium to the nation’s best result at the World Cup. They finished fourth in 1986. “We want to finish on a high and these players deserve to finish on a high,” said the Spaniard. “You need to try to see the opportunity of finishing third at the World Cup. That doesn’t happen too often.” — AFP

Did you Know 

22 Belgium and England have played each other 22 times. Their first clash was 97 years ago in Brussels, which England won 2-0. Since then England have won 14 more of their meetings while Belgium have won just twice, including victory in the group phase on June 28. 

2 Belgium will play in a third-place playoff match for the second time, having lost 4-2 after extra time to France in Mexico in 1986. 

2 England are also battling for bronze for the second time, denied by hosts Italy in 1990 when Salvatore Schillaci netted a late penalty winner in a 2-1 victory. 

5 Belgium won their first five matches in Russia to set a new Belgian record for consecutive victories at the World Cup. 

9 There have been nine different scorers for Belgium at this World Cup, just one off the record of 10 set by France in 1982 and matched by Italy in 2006.