It’s hard to keep your interest in a match that has absolutely no consequences. That holds true even if the two teams that are playing are arguably two of the most entertaining teams in the tournament. Belgium managed to eke out a win thanks to an early surge where they dominated the Englishmen like it was nobody’s business.
With more than a couple of their premium players not starting, England took their sweet time growing into the game. In the end, whatever they proffered proved to be too little. Pickford had a brilliant game once again and a delightful counter from Belgium was stopped from becoming the goal of the tournament by the Everton goalkeeper’s outstretched hand.
Gareth Southgate replaced Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard and Jordan Henderson with Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus Cheek and Eric Dier. For all the potential that Loftus-Cheek, Delph and Dier have, choosing to start with them is a major step down especially if your go-to guys are of the quality of Lingard, Dele Alli and Jordan Henderson- fact.
And that perhaps wasn’t the best approach to take as Belgium looked set to go for the kill from the get-go. While Loftus-Cheek was decent, Delph did nothing of note and Dier struggled in midfield against Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne.
Once Alli and Lingard introduced in the second half, England’s game picked up pace and they were creating a lot. But…