England skipper Harry Kane is the tournament´s top scorer on six goals, while Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku trails by two in the race for the Golden Boot.
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Belgium secured the bronze medal at the 2018 World Cup after goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard secured a 2-0 win over England. VIDEOS France will face Croatia in Sunday’s final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
“Belgium have been on a brilliant journey and will want to finish well, and we want to do the same”, Southgate said. It’s a contest between two teams filled with talent and high expectations moving forward, with Euro 2020 two years away.
“I’d be really surprised if Trippier is out there”. While neither team wanted to win their first match, the freedom from pressure and effect that the third-place match provides should make for some exciting, if inconsequential football. “It’s not the game we wanted to be in, as a team”.
“So there’s that and there’s the pride in playing for your country again”.
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.
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The goal means Belgium have had 10 different goalscorers at this World Cup – equalling the record set by France in 1982 and Italy in 2006.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eric Dier and Danny Rose are likely to start, while Harry Kane has declared himself fit.
The two losing semifinalists bring their World Cup to an end on Saturday in the game nobody wants to play; the third-place playoff.
“You’re disappointed because you lose the semi-final, and it’s very hard to see the opportunity of playing another game as a positive”, he said.
“We’ve raised expectation and I don’t see a problem with that because we’ve also raised belief”.
14 minute: England’s Kieran Trippier whips the ball to find Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the middle, but the latter heads it directly into the hands of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
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“We want to win and therefore field the strongest team”.
Pickford pulled off a fine late save to deny Meunier but Hazard sealed the victory when he finished off a flowing move, England’s tournament reaching a disappointing conclusion but their Russian Federation adventure overall one to live long in the memory.
Loftus-Cheek twice fired crosses in from the right, but neither Kane nor Rashford could get on the end of them. When you finish a tournament you carry over the feeling of the last game.
“We have shown we can in this one, the aim now is not to have to wait another 20 odd years to get in another big semifinal”.
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“We have to decide who can go again physically”. We don’t want to give Belgium any help frankly.
