Roberto Martinez wants Belgium to go out on a high and record their best World Cup finish by beating England in Saturday’s third-place play-off. Belgium were defeated by France in their semi-final while England missed out to Croatia, both sides losing by a single goal in tight contests. Having met in the third round of Group G, the Three Lions will be familiar opponents for Belgium, who won that match 1-0 after both sides made wholesale changes. Martinez said a stronger Belgium line-up can be expected for Saturday’s match in St Petersburg, though, with a win targeted to maintain his side’s momentum.
“We want to win. When you finish the tournament, you carry the feeling of the last game and we know that, it’s important to be aware,” Martinez told a news conference on his 45th birthday.
“We’ve been working here for a month now, we arrived in Russia on June 13, it’s been an incredible experience. Everyone involved in the Belgium team has performed in an incredible manner, from not just the players but everyone around the team.
“And every Belgium fan deserves a winning feeling at the end of the tournament. We’re aware that England will be in the same mindset. For both footballing nations, to play seven games in a World Cup is an achievement and a successful story, but we don’t want to take anything but a positive feeling out of the World Cup.
“Winning will take us a long way towards doing that.”