England took a welcome respite from consecutive Wembley defeats with a good showing against Belgium, including Ivan Toney and Jarred Bowen having good chances as Kobbie Mainoo made an eye-catching debut as he drove between their lines.
However, Jordan Pickford and Lewis Dunk both committed errors that contributed to Youri Tielemans’ goals. In this article, we will discuss about England National Football Team vs Belgium National Football Team Timeline.
England XI vs. Belgium XI
Jude Bellingham scored late to keep England unbeaten at Wembley Stadium since losing 1-0 against Brazil last Saturday, drawing plaudits from Gareth Southgate as an integral player on both teams in London’s wet conditions. Southgate would no doubt have been pleased with Bellingham’s performance under duress in London rain.
Start from Wembley at Wembley was an integral component in England’s improved performance at Wembley Stadium. His dextrous touches were captivating to watch and proved adept at anchoring midfield.
His goal, his inaugural international strike, came thanks to Kobbie Mainoo who showed excellent touch to get through several challenges on the right flank before crossing to Ivan Toney who showed excellent composure to slot it past Matz Sels and score his goal.
First half was much closer and England looked dangerous through their play through the middle, yet threw away opportunities through poor final third play – with Jordan Pickford particularly guilty of some wastefulness in early stages.
Belgium struck again before halftime through Youri Tielemans of Aston Villa’s double performance before halftime. Tielemans made his mark by exploiting Lewis Dunk’s poor clearance before capitalising on Romelu Lukaku’s pass for another goal.
Lukaku and Tielemans both played brilliantly again for England but Bellingham stole the show with his late equaliser. His late strike proved his worth as part of an improved England side; even at just 18 he has the ability to become an important contributor at Euro 2024, so he will need to continue impressing if he hopes to remain part of their squad for that tournament.
England’s Starting XI
Gareth Southgate has long favored a conservative selection policy when leading England. However, it may be necessary for him to alter this approach in order to get them back on track – particularly given how their current formation of four central backs and two holding midfielders weigh down on attacking prowess and undermine Southgate’s vision for their side.
Southgate must make an adjustment when facing Belgium: drop Manchester City’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and replace him with Liverpool’s Kieran Trippier, who has excelled for the Reds this season and represents a more effective left-back option than Joe Gomez from Liverpool.
Southgate should consider dropping Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta for Leicester City’s Kobbie Mainoo, who showed promise against Slovenia during a cameo appearance. Southgate must choose between him and Manchester United’s Mason Mount as central midfield candidates; Mainoo seems best equipped to both attack forwards while being combative at once.
Southgate should keep his lineup consistent up front, though Harry Kane could play an influential role – having made waves in Germany as part of Bayern Munich, then impressing since returning to international duty with England.
Lewis Cook of Brentford has proven himself worthy of national team selection during his short time. Cook has the experience and ability to step up at this level and should be treated as an imminent threat in the final third – potentially overriding Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon as a viable option.
Belgium’s Starting XI
Roberto Martinez has made several adjustments from the team which lost to Poland, but it still contains many players with plenty of major tournament experience. Koen Casteels will lead a defence consisting of Axel Witsel, Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Meunier while Kevin De Bruyne leads midfield play alongside Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard.
Romelu Lukaku is Belgium’s all-time top scorer and is looking to add another major trophy to his collection. Lukaku hopes to avoid repeating last summer’s Euro 2024 fiasco when his goal against Republic of Ireland was controversially disallowed by VAR. Lukaku will be joined up front by three younger players such as Johan Bakayoko, Charles De Ketelaere and Jeremy Doku who finished as La Liga’s leading scoring forward this season.
Jordan Pickford made an error that allowed Youri Tielemans to open the scoring for Belgium in the 11th minute, which could only be partially remedied by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford. England were soon back on attack though with Ivan Toney and Kobbie Mainoo both firing efforts just wide of target. Jude Bellingham provided England a much-deserved equaliser though and gave Southgate hope of producing more convincing performances in their second match under his stewardship; hopefully avoiding repeat of last month’s defensive errors before they announce their expanded squad ahead of Euro 2024 tournament!
England’s Substitutions
Gareth Southgate made five substitutions due to injury concerns for England in their most recent match versus USA on Saturday, including three debutants. It marked the most England subs that have featured since 1980 when Trevor Brooking and Dave Thomas each made five appearances as subs.
Jamie Vardy made an impactful substitute appearance against Belgium on March 17th as Jermain Defoe departed the field due to an ankle injury, replacing him in the 59th minute before scoring six minutes later with a 10-yard shot – his third as an England substitute equalling Michael Owen’s record set back in 2001. It marked also a first ever time two scoring substitutes appeared during one England-Belgium match!
Jack Grealish was only on for seventy seconds but made history nine minutes later with a low right-footed shot, becoming England’s quickest substitute scorer by more than 30 minutes.
Substitutes were responsible for 14 of England’s 15 goals scored during this match between England and Belgium at Wembley Stadium – with six different subs scoring multiple goals each time. It marked their 15th meeting and first-ever encounter played there since 2000.
This was their first meeting since David Platt’s iconic volley won an emotional victory for England at Italia 90 back in round-16. They will face each other again on 19 November for a friendly at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels; most likely ending up in a draw. Both teams currently trail Germany by one point; victory for either would help England secure second place and play-off qualification, while defeat would hand top spot back to Belgium.
Belgium’s Substitutions
At this point, numerous star players such as Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, and Marouane Fellaini joined the Belgian squad and helped form a formidable side.
Belgium was widely known for their effort in qualifying for and qualifying for the 1998 World Cup as “The Golden Generation“, ultimately qualifying for and facing off against Argentina for a place in the semifinals before winning through to defeat Italy and Croatia to take home their maiden bronze medal ever in any World Cup competition.
Belgium struggled after the end of their golden era and this was evident within a few years by failing to qualify for major tournaments despite possessing some of Europe’s best players.
Due to this lack of resources and talent within their ranks, they were forced to make major changes and invest in some of the finest young talent available – with De Bruyne, Mbappe and Lukaku moving to top clubs in order to boost their chances of making national team selection.
WIDE!!! Kounde attempts to pick out Mbappe with a pass, but France striker cannot launch his shot from inside the box and his attempt goes wide!
Belgium move the ball quickly from left to right as they begin their transition, with Tchouameni finding space inside the box but his low shot being easily saved by Maignan!
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