Three Things we Learned from England V Belgium

 England signed their World Cup group phase off with a disappointing defeat to Belgium’s reserves, which means they now find themselves facing Columbia in the Last-16 as they finished second behind the Red Devils. 

Both teams entered the game with no real intentions of winning it as both managers wanted to reap the benefits of finishing second. With Belgium now likely to face Argentina, France, Brazil, and Portugal in the knockout stages. 

The game had an essence of a charity testimonial for the players who are on the fringes of the starting XI and wanted to commemorate their performance to their families watching in the stands rather than the country watching at home. However, there were some key lessons that Southgate may have taken from such a dire performance. 

Here is three things we learned: 

1.    John Stones is Key for Southgate 

Gareth Southgate rested 8 players for the game against Belgium but decided to keep John Stones at the heart of the back-three, just like he had done for the previous two games.  

The Manchester City defender has shown his true qualities at this World Cup as he has become a key figure in carrying out Southgate’s out from the back philosophy. He boasts a pass competition rate of 97.25% as he has only misplaced 4 passes throughout all three group games. The defender is shaping up to be a central maestro as every England attack seems to start through him. 

His importance to the team was then highlighted at the interval when Gareth Southgate substituted him for Leicester’s Harry Maguire. He was seen on the bench with a strapped icepack on his calf, which has caused many to question whether he will be fit to face Colombia. I am sure Southgate’s focus ahead on the match will be trying to get Stones fit, however, if not he is likely to be replaced by England’s most capped player at the tournament, Garry Cahill, which most fans will not be entirely too pleased about. 

2.    Rashford continues to shine in an England shirt

Despite him fluffing England’s only chance in the game, the young Manchester United striker’s performance may have just been enough to cause Southgate to consider starting him against Colombia on Tuesday night. 

The chance came about because one of his many blistering runs behind the defence was spotted by his teammates. He made a series of bursts in behind but neither Loftus-Cheek, Delph or Dier failed to pick him out as they decided to play as if we were protecting this imaginary lead by continuously playing the ball from side to side. 

Rashford may not bring that goal-scoring trait that Harry Kane possesses, but neither does Raheem Sterling or Danny Welbeck for that matter. What he does bring is direct play, pace and skill which the Columbian players would not want to face. His determination to make something happen makes England a spontaneous outfit to play against, which makes him a unique player in the England squad. His form in an England shirt backs this up and despite him struggling against Belgium’s reserves he his Kane’s most stimulating striking partner. 

3.    England Defence can be pushed back 

In a team that had only two starters from the previous games against Tunisia and Panama, there was some noticeable clinks in England Defence as Belgium pressed high and made the back three into a back five for the majority of the game. 

Despite not being their strongest side, this Belgium team provided England with more competition than their warm-up friendlies and two opening games. Whether England intentionally defended deep to not allow Michy Batshuayi to run in behind, or were forcibly pushed back by Belgium’s attack, it showed flaws in Southgate’s system. There was a void between the midfield and defence which allowed Thorgan Hazard and Adan Januzaj to dictate play. 

Many believe that this was just because Southgate played a weaker team, with Cahill and Jones being traditional central defenders who don’t conform to the new system as well as the likes of Walker and Stones. Despite this, Southgate will be deeply concerned that his team had less control and will know that if Belgium had played the likes of Hazard and Lukaku they would have won the game by a bigger margin.