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In what was very much a smash-and-grab performance, England collected three points in a 2020-21 UEFA Nations League game by defeating Belgium at Wembley.
Roberto Martinez’s Red Devils dominated the first half of the game – living up to the hype as FIFA’s top-ranked team – but were only able to gain a lead through Romelu Lukaku’s penalty.
Ten minutes before the half ended, England drew level through their own spot-kick from Marcus Rashford, and midway through the second half, Mason Mount’s heavily-deflected goal was able to win the game for The Three Lions.
On that note, here are five talking points from England’s win over Belgium.
#1 England had a highly fortuitous win
England fans will be happy with tonight’s result. There can be no doubt about that. Gareth Southgate’s side were able to defeat FIFA’s top-ranked side in the form of Belgium, picking up three valuable UEFA Nations League points in the process. On paper at least, this was probably their best win since their 3-2 victory over Spain two years ago.
However, if we’re honest, this was a massively fortuitous victory. If you go by the stats, this was an even game – England had 47% possession and nine shots, three of them being on target - while Belgium enjoyed 53% possession with 11 shots, with two of them being on target.
The truth, though, is that Belgium bossed the first half, with Romelu Lukaku bullying Eric Dier and Kevin de Bruyne buzzing around looking dangerous as he created chances aplenty for Lukaku and Yannick Carrasco.
Sure, England were much improved in the second half – largely stifling Roberto Martinez’s side - particularly when De Bruyne was withdrawn after 73 minutes. But they still struggled to actually create chances, and when you consider the fact that their goals came from a penalty and a deflected shot, it was hard to really be impressed with Southgate’s men.
#2 Is England’s old fear of flair returning?
In his 2017 book Fifty Years of Hurt, popular journalist Henry Winter devoted an entire chapter to what he described as England’s 'fear of flair'.
In this chapter, Winter discussed and essentially bemoaned the fact that for reasons unknown, England managers have traditionally distrusted naturally talented flair players or mavericks, with names like Glenn Hoddle and Matt Le Tissier mentioned.
The issue hasn’t reared its head in recent years, largely because since Paul Gascoigne’s England career ended in 1998, England haven’t had many true mavericks to call upon. Now though, it unfortunately appears that Gareth Southgate is following in the footsteps of his predecessors.
Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has enjoyed a fantastic start to his 2020-21 campaign. He’s already scored three goals and registered as many assists in the Premier League, and in England’s friendly win over Wales on Thursday, he set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal and was named the Man of the Match.
Given Raheem Sterling’s absence, it felt like the game against Belgium would’ve been the perfect stage for Grealish to shine. And yet Southgate didn’t select him from the start nor did he introduce him from the bench despite making four substitutes.
What was his justification for this? It’s hard to say. Fans and pundits alike were calling for the Villa man to start, and yet Southgate selected Marcus Rashford – who has hardly been in form – and Mason Mount, a more natural midfielder, ahead of Grealish.
Basically, the decision didn’t make any sense at all. If Southgate starts Grealish against Denmark on Wednesday, the critics may quieten, but if we’re treated to a repeat of tonight’s game – even if England win – then it’d be hard to suspect anything but the boss being afraid to use a maverick talent.
#3 Belgium lived and died by Romelu Lukaku
Belgium looked by far the more dangerous side in the first half against England, and a lot of that was down to the performance of Romelu Lukaku. The Inter Milan striker was often derided in his Premier League days for his lack of mobility, but that wasn’t the case at Wembley tonight.
Lukaku looked physically dominant in his duel with Eric Dier from the off, outmuscling the Tottenham man on a couple of occasions. And when he completely outpaced Dier to race into the penalty area, it seemed that a Belgian goal was inevitable.
In the end, Dier brought Lukaku down, and the Inter man scored from the penalty spot. England continued to struggle to handle him from there on, with the striker continuing to outmuscle and largely bully the Three Lions’ defenders.
However, in the second half, a simple tactical switch – having Dier, Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire move into a more compact shape and mark Lukaku more tightly – changed the complexion of the game altogether.
The Inter striker was suddenly quietened as a mix of Dier’s physicality and Walker’s pace prevented him from getting into the dangerous positions he’d done in the first half. And sure enough, despite Kevin de Bruyne’s creative skills, Belgium’s attack was blunted.
Would this have been the case had Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens been available for the game? Perhaps not, but against England, Belgium lived and died by the work of Romelu Lukaku, and in the end, he simply wasn’t effective enough across 90 minutes.
#4 England lacked creativity throughout the game
Like it did in England’s game against Denmark in September, Gareth Southgate’s team selection against Belgium also raised eyebrows. Southgate lined The Three Lions up in a 3-4-3 formation again, a lineup that was seemingly designed to do little else but stifle Belgium.
Kyle Walker, Eric Dier and Harry Maguire lined up at central defence, with Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold as wing-backs. But if this wasn’t a solid enough base, Southgate then chose defensive midfielders Jordan Henderson and Declan Rice in the centre of the pitch, and when Henderson was withdrawn in the second half, he was replaced by another holding man in Kalvin Phillips.
Sure, this meant that England were able to keep Belgium largely quiet – particularly in the second half – but from a creative standpoint, Southgate’s side were absolutely awful.
Marcus Rashford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Mason Mount all struggled for any kind of service, and really the only true chance England carved out came late in the game when Rice and Rashford linked up nicely before the Manchester United man fired over the crossbar.
Surely, it would make more sense for England to line up with one defensive midfielder and one more creative one – Mount, James Maddison or Ross Barkley, for instance – in order to break down an opposing defence? That might open England up to opposition attacks, but of course, that’s what three centre-backs are there to deal with.
Essentially this was a strong win, but without any kind of creative spark, England are probably going to struggle going forward. Southgate needs to make this a priority or The Three Lions – and their fans – are likely to suffer.
#5 Was Thomas Meunier’s foul on Jordan Henderson enough for a penalty?
One point of contention for Belgium about their loss would be whether or not England’s penalty was actually justified. There was absolutely no doubt about Belgium’s spot-kick – Romelu Lukaku was brought down by Eric Dier – but there should definitely be question marks about England’s.
The incident saw Thomas Meunier penalised during a corner, essentially for blocking Jordan Henderson off and then pulling him back. However, it did appear that the Liverpool man may have gone down a little easily and also screamed at the referee as he did so.
So was it a penalty? It’s hard to say. On one hand, Meunier almost certainly prevented Henderson from moving in the box, but equally, had the incident been on the halfway line, would the England man have gone down? Probably not.
The truth is that under Southgate, England have become far more streetwise, and this was a prime example of that. Had Henderson decided to stay on his feet, the likelihood of a penalty being given would’ve dropped dramatically. Therefore it’s hard to dispute the idea that the Liverpool man did the right thing by going down, and Meunier was at fault for making a questionable decision in the first place.
