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After falling to defeat tonight in Leuven, England will now not be going to next year’s UEFA Nations League finals. Instead, Belgium – who defeated England 2-0 tonight – will face off with Denmark on Wednesday to decide the winners of League A’s Group 2.
It was a frustrating evening for England, who fell behind in the first half to a somewhat fortunate Youri Tielemans goal when the ball flicked off Tyrone Mings. A debatable free-kick saw Belgium extend their lead to 2-0, Dries Mertens converting the dead-ball beautifully.
England improved dramatically in the second half and largely bossed proceedings. But despite the best efforts of Jack Grealish and Harry Kane, they were unable to find a goal to really test their hosts.
Here are five talking points from Belgium’s win over England.
#1 England’s midfield was devoid of creativity, particularly in the first half
To say that England’s switch to a 3-4-3 system this year hasn’t paid off would be an understatement. They might’ve picked up a fortunate win over Belgium in October, but their style of football using the system has been dour, largely due to Gareth Southgate persisting with two holding midfielders in the center of the pitch.
That was the case again tonight, as Southgate started with Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson as his midfield two. To the surprise of nobody, England were thoroughly devoid of creativity throughout the first half, with defender Tyrone Mings providing the better balls through to the forward line. Poor Harry Kane was once again left attempting to feed on scraps.
The second half saw England improve dramatically, though. That was seemingly because Harry Winks – a better technical ball-player – was introduced for Henderson. However, Winks is still not a creator, and despite England dominating possession, the only sparks came from Jack Grealish in a wide left role. And sure enough, Southgate’s team never really tested Thibaut Courtois.
Understandably, Southgate would want to shore up England’s defense leading into next summer’s European Championship. But by doing so, he’s completely blunted the team’s attack.
Surely a 3-4-3 system with a duo of a defensive midfielder – either Rice, Henderson, or Winks – alongside an attacker like Mason Mount, Ross Barkley, James Maddison or Phil Foden would be more convincing?
#2 Was the free-kick for Belgium’s second goal legitimate?
Nobody could dispute the brilliance of Dries Mertens’ free-kick for Belgium’s second goal. It was a picture-perfect dead-ball that left England keeper Jordan Pickford with no chance. Admittedly, it was curious why some of England’s wall didn’t jump for the ball, but the likelihood is they wouldn’t have blocked the shot anyway.
However, there was a big question mark as to whether the free-kick should’ve been given in the first place. Referee Danny Makkelie blew his whistle to signal that Declan Rice had fouled Kevin De Bruyne. But it appeared to be clear that Rice had won the ball with his challenge.
It was just one baffling call of many from the Dutch official, who gave a total of 23 free-kicks throughout the match, despite it not really being a dirty one. Many of those free-kicks were arguable at best, with both teams benefiting at times from his strange decisions.
This was not the first poor game for Makkelie involving England. His bizarre call to disallow a Danny Welbeck goal cost Gareth Southgate’s side a draw against Spain in 2018. Judging by tonight’s performance, he’s simply not cut out to referee at the highest level.
#3 Belgium’s defending was masterful throughout the game
The fact that England dominated the second half in terms of possession, took 16 shots on goal, and yet didn’t test Thibaut Courtois should probably tell you a lot about how this game went. Despite playing an attacking system that involved two flying wing-backs in Thomas Meunier and Thorgan Hazard, Belgium’s defending was absolutely fantastic.
The likes of Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, and Harry Kane all made inroads into the penalty area throughout this game. But every time it came to shooting, Jason Denayer, Jan Vertonghen, and Toby Alderweireld always seemed to be able to get in the way.
At times, it felt like every time Kane found himself in the box, he was absolutely surrounded by red shirts. Admittedly, England lacked the creativity to find a killer pass, and their final ball was somewhat lacking at times. But even so, it would’ve been hard for even the best attack to get through this defense.
Vertonghen, Denayer, and Alderweireld often come under criticism for their lack of pace, but tonight they didn’t need it. They simply used their experience to wait until exactly the right moment and then shut England’s attacks down. As a defensive performance, it was brilliant.
#4 Is it the end of the road for Kyle Walker and England?
When he was sent off for England against Iceland back in September, it looked like the end of the road for Kyle Walker at international level. The Manchester City man had failed to make Gareth Southgate’s last England squad but came back in for that game in Reykjavik, only to put in his worst performance in the shirt to date.
Curiously, Walker was still brought back in October’s internationals and was then restored to his 2018 World Cup position on the right side of a three-man defense. He performed well in that month’s games against Belgium and Denmark – but had an absolute stinker tonight.
Walker lost the ball cheaply on numerous occasions, constantly misplaced passes, and while he got into decent attacking positions, he was wasteful there too. One example of this was his far-too-deep cross for Harry Kane in the second half – a cross that Kane would’ve reached only had he been around ten feet tall.
At the age of 30, surely, it’s the right time to say enough is enough and call time on Walker’s international career? He’s arguably behind Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, and Reece James in the pecking order for England at right-back now. And if England want a pacy, right-sided defender for their back three, then surely Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka would be a better bet?
Walker has been a solid servant for England, but judging on tonight’s showing, he simply isn’t good enough at this level anymore.
#5 Can Belgium’s golden generation now win a trophy?
This wasn’t the best performance from Belgium by any means – they scored a deflected goal and a questionable free-kick and then spent the entire second half defending against England. However, Roberto Martinez’s men still came out with a strong 2-0 win. And barring a collapse against Denmark on Wednesday, they will now head to next year’s UEFA Nations League finals.
So is 2021 going to be the year that Belgium’s so-called golden generation finally win a trophy? It’s definitely possible. Judging by tonight’s performance, it’s going to be hard for any of Europe’s attacking units to break down their defense.
And with players like Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and the absent Eden Hazard at their disposal, Roberto Martinez’s side has enough firepower to hurt any team in the world.
Up to this point, Belgium have always fallen at the final hurdle, often choking in the moment as they did against Wales in Euro 2016. However, their squad certainly hasn’t gotten any weaker, and if anything, their defense is more experienced and slightly stronger now.
It’s arguable that the Nations League might be their best bet of a trophy next year, assuming they make the finals, as they’ll only have to win two games to achieve it. But with the rest of Europe’s heavyweights not really firing on all cylinders right now, 2021 might be their best chance yet.
