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England players gave a collective whistle at the final whistle as the awareness ended. They were victims of the best performance of the World Cup in Belgium, beaten by a team that will be hosted Sunday by King Philippe at Laeken Castle before a parade at the Grand Place in Brussels. England intends to return, quietly and without fanfare, to Birmingham with holidays in mind. Instinctively, it looks like they could deserve more.
Gareth Southgate's young and talented team surpassed all expectations. No team from England has improved fourth place that they have claimed, unexpectedly and joyfully, on foreign soil. Many who look outside will recall that they escaped high-caliber opposition thanks to a draw, and that Belgium, ranked third in the world, beat them twice . The director admitted that there was a gap in the quality and experience between the two parties. But, in the context of the anxious disorder that England experienced during the last big finals, this campaign was refreshing.
They come back with their revived reputation, an inspired team to improve and enhanced by the positive experience that they have had for four seasons. weeks in Russia. Their real frustration had been endured in the Luzhniki midweek. This reflection afterward in St. Petersburg, a game played in the middle of the Mexican waves of local and familiar songs of "Rossiya", should not alter anything . Their rather lethargic first half performance can be explained by the reality that they were given no more than 48 hours, and practically no time for training or preparation, to recover from this overwhelming disappointment . An anticlimax numbness had inevitably continued them north of Moscow.
And they had resuscitated again after the interval, with Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford injecting more urgency into the display, with so much of that refusal to come out with a moan because of it. ;optimism. The tired legs and the tired minds always had the potential to reduce this competition at a steady pace in the damp heat, but England was more assured of passing, more energetic on the ground and was threatening to recover parity after the goal of Thomas Meunier.
Chances have been created, opportunities missed. Then Eden Hazard, waved in action and, powered by the irrepressible Kevin De Bruyne, danced on the pitch and settled the occasion by cheating on Jordan Pickford with a twist of his hips before d & # 39; 39, bury a shot inside the pole. It was a reminder of the pedigree that the English faced.
At least, a competition that no one had savored was competitive at times, despite the lack of openness in England that had almost driven them away from the start. The authorization of Thibaut Courtois had been sworn by Nacer Chadli for Romelu Lukaku to accept, with the pass of the attacker inside Kieran Trippier perfectly balanced for that. winger of West Bromwich Albion be returned. His cross was converted by Miller, sprinting in front of a frightened Danny Rose. "A horrible goal to concede," proposed Southgate. "But the attitude of the players was always outstanding, they never stopped, they used the ball very well, and in the second half, the players were relentless, and there were unbelievable individual performances." [19659008] Thomas Meunier celebrates after opening the scoring for Belgium from the start. ” src=”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3a6981d07d32dd0277c45257de7beb410a8e4839/0_104_2835_1701/master/2835.jpg?w=300&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=30411b01bca3f415a0edf6979b9df600″/>
There was abundant evidence of the pride and commitment that Southgate had called. Lingard and Rashford have taken over the initiative. The team seemed to take over a challenge invoked by Fabian Delph, passed to the left back at the break, to counter Meunier. John Stones was outstanding, while Jordan Pickford, avoiding exciting pit stops from Meunier and De Bruyne, maintained the largely excellent form he offered. Trippier's radar came into play to stretch even a very experienced Belgian backline, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek grew up in the match. It was the last pass or attempt that undermined them, and it was a familiar failure.
When Eric Dier traded passes with Rashford in the middle of the second half and advanced alone on Courtois, cutting his shot on goalkeeper, Toby Alderweireld to slip and hook the goallin's effort. With this luck went the English award hopes, with Belgium ending assured. They finished their tournament with six wins in seven games, and it is vaguely confusing that they will not participate in Sunday's final. A bronze medal seems insufficient given their rich talent, provided that Roberto Martínez – with 10 different scorers – reveled in the direction of success. In Hazard and De Bruyne, they have geniuses at work.
Twice Manchester City's playmaker had slid Lukaku past the back line of England with subtle and gloriously weighed passes, only for the striker to drop him. Lukaku, four times a striker in Russia but injured by France, was replaced at the hour and went straight down the tunnel, his persistent hopes of claiming the gold boot, and was even absent of the post-match squad. 19659002] This award will surely go to Harry Kane, unless Kylian Mbappé or Antoine Griezmann go wild in the final, even though he looked like the most exhausted English player in the last two games. He ended up watching too much of this margin game, but England, for once, was not peripheral. It's been a while since the nation celebrated that.
