World Cup 3rd Place Play Off

England and Belgium meet again in the much maligned 3^rd Place Play Off game. A rerun of their group stage encounter, below is everything you need to know about the teams. Which country will be able to pick themselves up for one last time after semi-final disappointment and deliver a winning performance?

England - Belgium

Strengths: 

England – This is likely to be Vardy’s last World Cup game (he is 31) and he will want to shine. England are the most effective team from set pieces in this World Cup. 9 of their 12 goals have come from dead-ball situations. They are the team that attempts the most shots per game from inside the six-yard box – 2.0!                 

Belgium – Great talent on the bench that is ready to shine. Belgium have a very direct approach with 74.3% of their 17.7 dribbles per match being successful. That is the highest percentage of any team in this World Cup. They are not afraid to put their bodies on the line when needed, blocking 4.5 shots per match, again the most in this World Cup.  

Weaknesses:

England – The 3 Lions lack creativity and have looked dead on their feet after 60 minutes in the knockout games. England barely create anything from open play. They managed just a single shot on target in the semi-final, the free-kick goal inside 5 minutes. 

They struggled to match Belgium’s makeshift team in the group stages. Centre-backs Cahill and Jones lack pace and have been deemed ill-equipped to deal with the demands of modern football numerous times before. There is no doubt that they struggle against players running at them.     

Belgium – The sloppiest team of all 4 semi-finalists. Belgium were dispossessed 10.2 times with 13.3 bad touches per game. They commit numerous fouls (14.7 per game), which against a team good from set pieces could be damaging. Martinez’s men were expected to make the final and unlike England will feel that they have underperformed in this tournament.

Click here to subscribe to our preview, report & stats service. Coverage of 50+ tournaments with daily updates before and after games!