Sports Mole investigates England and Belgium’s performances over time in an international friendly that promises to be both exciting and competitive.
England will take heart from their display despite conceding two goals in the first half, even though they conceded two. Youri Tielemans capitalised on mistakes by Jordan Pickford and Lewis Dunk to score twice for Belgium against England. In this article, we will discuss about the England National Football Team Vs Belgium National Football Team Stats.
Top Matches
England and Belgium last met for an international friendly at Wembley Stadium in 2012 and won by one goal, 1-0. This match should prove more competitive with Belgium currently at the top of their respective table and boasting plenty of attacking talent like Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens – two players instrumental to Belgium’s semi-final victory over France at this summer’s World Cup semis; these stars could help their nation take revenge on England again at Wembley!
England will look to rebound from their dispiriting loss against Brazil in the World Cup quarter-finals this Saturday by winning one of four international friendly matches against Belgium – though according to Opta’s supercomputer simulations they appear as favorites to prevail here.
Gareth Southgate has made two changes to his starting lineup following Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire’s respective hamstring injuries, opening up places for Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton and Kobbie Mainoo from Newcastle – likely operating together in central midfield – as debutants.
Starting the game off right, both sides are aggressively searching for an early strike. Pickford makes an impressive save to stop Jeremy Doku’s powerful shot while Bellingham wastes an excellent chance by colliding with Rice and Onana in the middle of the park.
Belgium are creating problems with their counterattacks, with Luca Cazorla producing an amazing piece of skill to send the ball over England keeper Jordan Pickford from inside the box – but England are well aware of any danger and easily collect it.
England are beginning to show signs of their defensive frailty again. Dunk makes an error clearing away a long ball, allowing Lukaku to bend a beautiful cross over Konsa for Tielemans to head in easily. England try a couple of quick breaks but Mainoo cannot find the net and Chilwell collides with Meunier before being forced wide by him – two examples of England’s flaws in defence that threaten them at this stage of proceedings.
Head to Head
Gareth Southgate will have an incredible opportunity to impress his young England squad in this friendly against Belgium. After their loss against Brazil, England will look to make amends by winning and finalize Euro 2024 preparations against an impressive opponent.
Belgium won their last meeting between these sides 2-0 in 2020 in a UEFA Nations League clash thanks to goals scored by Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens, making their way onto Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens’ scores sheets for victory at Wembley Stadium. Belgium are currently ranked fourth while England are currently eighth; making this fixture an interesting test for both nations at Wembley.
England have struggled in recent international friendlies, providing an opportunity for Southgate’s young guns to shine and demonstrate their worth. Joe Gomez will look to continue his outstanding form on right wing for England and could play an instrumental role in this matchup.
Ezri Konsa, Ben Chilwell and Declan Rice will have an opportunity to impress in midfield, while 18-year-old striker Kobbie Mainoo could earn himself a place on his full debut by performing well on his full debut.
Belgium are blessed with an elite defensive lineup featuring Thomas Vertonghen, Jan Dijke and Vincent Kompany – as well as numerous attacking options including Romelu Lukaku and Leandro Trossard.
England 1-1 Belgium (11mins): England are forced to start the second half without John Stones who is replaced by Joe Gomez after picking up an injury during play. Stones seemed fine earlier but was hit hard after being tackled by Leandro Andrade and sustained knee ligament damage as a result.
England are struggling to gain any traction in this matchup, yet they do manage one shot on goal! Phil Foden charged into the box, was tackled fairly according to VAR and then dropped back out onto Maddison at the byline who crossed for Bellingham who sidefooted into the corner for an equaliser that will surely take their side forward! A well-deserved equaliser.
Goalscorers
England have found it tougher than expected to score goals since their 5-0 thrashing of subpar Azerbaijan; only managing one goal against Serbia and one against Ireland respectively in their next two matches. Gareth Southgate will hope that striker Ivan Toney adds to his international goal total when they host Belgium at Wembley Stadium on Thursday night.
The Red Devils will field an impressive squad against Belgium, featuring Romelu Lukaku, Amadou Onana and Jan Vertonghen as starters; Manchester City duo Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard will make their international debuts for Gareth Southgate’s side; Kyle Walker may drop out while Everton’s Rico Lewis could replace Sam Johnstone – all starting lines will look different than before against Brazil.
England were fast out of the gate in their Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley, but it was their defensive mistakes which ultimately proved costly. Jordan Pickford’s mistake led to Youri Tielemans scoring, while Lewis Dunk and Declan Rice both committed errors that allowed Belgium to break and take an early advantage.
Although England were on the losing side, England produced some exciting moments. Jeremy Doku’s clever turns threatened Belgium defenders while Toney’s dribbling kept their backline busy and created opportunities. Unfortunately for England though, an injury to John Stones in the first half slowed their momentum but their midfield trio of Rice, Bellingham, and Mainoo continued their attack-minded playmaking ability.
But the home side’s defensive issues persisted into the second half. Vertonghen and De Bruyne both committed poor clearances, which Romelu Lukaku used to set up Tielemans who scored another Belgian goal from Romelu Lukaku’s superb through ball. Although Jude Bellingham scored late to save a draw for England after their inability to turn possession into goals left them frustrated; although Gareth Southgate’s revamped team made up the draw; an outcome which will soften criticism in coming after an international break filled with mixed performances for them as an England team under Southgate’s direction.
Match Statistics
Both teams are getting ready for kickoff, with both sides seeing opportunities go begging in the early stages of the game. Jarrod Bowen’s run down the right ends in an Ivan Toney cross that only ends up volleyed into his own net by West Ham forward Ivan Toney himself. Later, Amadou Onana laid off and allowed Tielemans to shoot a shot into Pickford’s goal from close range.
Gareth Southgate made five changes to England’s team that lost to Brazil 2-1 on Saturday, including giving debut starts to newcomers Kobbie Mainoo, Jeremy Doku and Dominic Solanke – three former Premier League debutantes from Everton with Marcos Alonso and Ben Chilwell also selected as part of this squad. Luke Shaw of Manchester United joins them.
Belgium have won their last three matches against England (W3 D2). Their unbeaten run includes an emphatic 2-0 UEFA Nations League win earlier this month in which Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens both scored. Their only previous defeat came during Euro 90 when Ray Wilkins and Jan Ceulemans hit the woodwork and David Platt’s iconic stoppage time volley salvaged a point for England.
In November, England and Belgium played to a 1-1 draw in London with Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount scoring for England. A month later in Leuven, Tielemans and Mertens scored twice to give Belgium victory 2-0.
Belgium defeated Wembley 3-1 during a quarter-final clash of the European Championship in April 2022 to advance further in their tournament and eventually claim victory. They won on penalties after extra time, ultimately defeating England 1-0 en route to winning it all. They hope a similar result awaits them this time at Wembley Stadium.
