Player Ratings: Belgium 2-0 England - Red Devils secure third place at 2018 World Cup
A closer look at the performances and explanation of the player ratings from Belgium’s 2-0 win over England in the bronze match at the 2018 World Cup:
Belgium - 7.15
Thibaut Courtois - 7.45 - The 26-year-old turned in another flawless performance, making five saves, to ensure Belgium ended their run of 14 World Cup knockout matches without keeping a clean sheet.
Toby Alderweirled - 7.63 - Turned in a commanding performance at the back, proving why Manchester United are interested in his services this summer, denying Tottenham team-mate Eric Dier with a brilliant goalline clearance.
Vincent Kompany - 7.10 - This could potentially be Kompany’s last ever match at a major tournament for Belgium and the 32-year-old defended well. In the right place at the right time, the Manchester City skipper made eight clearances to alleviate pressure.
Jan Vertonghen - 7.15 - Barely put a foot wrong, anticipating danger in the Belgium penalty box well. Was switched to left wing-back for nearly an hour after Nacer Chadli’s injury and coped well, even bombing forward to provide another option in attack.
Thomas Meunier - 7.84 - Was a real threat in attack, opening the scoring after latching onto Nacer Chadli’s cross in the first half. He almost finished off a stunning move that would have been a goal of the tournament contender, only denied by a superb save by Jordan Pickford.
Axel Witsel - 7.07 - Another quietly effective performance in midfield, completing 98.1% of his passes. Showed great composure and allowed the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne the freedom to cause chaos in attack.
Youri Tielemans - 7.15 - The future looks bright in Belgium’s midfield with 21-year-old Thielemans on the scene. He created two goalscoring opportunities, made two tackles, two interceptions and completed 91.1% of his passes.
Nacer Chadli - 7.12 - Provided the cross for Belgium’s opener but was forced off through injury towards the end of the first half.
Kevin De Bruyne - 8.18 - Constantly found pockets of space from which he wrecked havoc on England’s defence, slicing them open time and time again with brilliantly weighted through balls. Set up Hazard for the second and handed Romelu Lukaku two opportunities on a plate.
Eden Hazard - 8.51 - The 27-year-old strengthened his case as the tournament’s best player, completing seven dribbles and netting his third goal of the summer. England, particularly Phil Jones, will be glad to see the back of him.
Romelu Lukaku - 5.90 - Demonstrated more good hold up play and was integral in Belgium’s first goal, but spurned two golden opportunities to catch Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot with bad first touches.
Subs: Thomas Vermaelen (6.32), Dries Mertens (6.29), Mousa Dembele (6.33)
England - 6.47
Jordan Pickford - 6.30 - Could do nothing to stop Belgium’s first goal but was deceived by Eden Hazard for the second. England’s goalkeeper did produce an absolutely stunning save to deny a goal of the tournament move from Belgium, while showing good reactions in the first half to thwart Kevin De Bruyne.
Phil Jones - 6.20 - Came out on the losing side of his personal war with Eden Hazard for the second time in a few months. He did at least manage to avoid getting a red card this time around, but the thought must have gone through his mind as Hazard raced through on goal for Belgium’s second. A truly woeful performance.
John Stones - 6.49 - Could have been more proactive in his defending for Belgium’s opener but was generally superb against the Red Devils. Blocking four shots, he helped ensure Pickford only had two saves to make.
Harry Maguire - 6.60 - Continued to pose Belgium problems from set-pieces, but could only direct one of his three shots on target. Picked up a needless booking berating the decision of the match referee, decreasing his rating.
Eric Dier - 6.98 - Did an awful job of nullifying Kevin De Bruyne but finished the game strongly. His dinked effort was brilliantly cleared off the line, but should have done better with a free header on the six-yard box. Should nice touches around the penalty box to give Ruben Loftus-Cheek a half chance.
Kieran Trippier - 7.31 - Concluded the tournament with another impressive outing at right wing-back, creating seven goalscoring opportunities for the Three Lions.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 6.69 - Arguably his best performance of the World Cup, Loftus-Cheek showed good power and drive. No England player completed more dribbles than the 22-year-old (3), but he lacked finesse in key areas.
Fabian Delph - 6.88 - Showed good energy and nice footwork in England’s midfield before switching to left wing-back in the second half. The 28-year-old produced a vitally important sliding tackle to prevent Meunier from adding to his first half goal.
Danny Rose - 6.42 - It was Rose’s shoddy defending that allowed Belgium to open the scoring and little lapses of concentration invited pressure on England’s defence. He was hooked at the break as England searched for a way back into the game.
Raheem Sterling - 5.96 - Gave Harry Kane a great chance to equalise in the first half but generally struggled to influence the game. Belgium coped well with his pace and he was replaced at the break.
Harry Kane - 5.98 - It was another poor performance from England’s captain. Kane hasn’t looked right in any of England’s last three matches, despite denying he is carrying an injury. The World Cup’s top scorer snatched at a great chance to draw England level and generally struggled to keep pace with play.
Subs: Jesse Lingard (6.08), Marcus Rashford (6.67), Dele Alli (6.01)
