Eden Hazard Powers Belgium Past England in 2018 World Cup 3rd-Place Game

Belgium beat England 2-0 to secure third place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup on Saturday at the Saint Petersburg Stadium in Russia.

Thomas Meunier opened the scoring after just four minutes, before Eden Hazard sealed a deserved win late on for Roberto Martinez's side.

Uninspiring Performances Prove Third-Place Match is Pointless

England manager Gareth Southgate was honest in his opinion of the third-place play-off before the match. He told reporters "it's not a game any team wants to play in."

The two teams have to recover from the disappointment of seeing their World Cup dreams ended in the semi-finals to play in a match that offers only a meagre consolation prize.

Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail offered his view:

The two teams put in uninspiring performances, which only served to highlight the pointless nature of the match. The history books will record that Belgium finished third, but few will remember much from this encounter beyond the result.

Supporters also did not seem too interested in attending. James Olley at the Evening Standard noted the amount of empty seats inside the stadium:

Belgium's win means the Red Devils have secured their highest-ever finish at a World Cup:

Yet Martinez's side may still head home thinking more about their inability to beat France in the last four than celebrating their win over England.

England will view their World Cup as a success as the team went into the tournament with few expectations.

However, they now depart after losses to Croatia and Belgium showed their young team still has a lot of work to do to challenge for honours.

Belgium Highlight England's Midfield Deficiencies

England's midfield deficiencies have been evident at the World Cup. Croatia came from behind to beat the Three Lions in the semi-finals after Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic took control.

Southgate's men have also relied on set pieces for goals due to a lack of presence and creativity in midfield. Sports writer Ben Fairthorne offered his view:

Defeat to Belgium showed once again that Southgate needs to add a midfielder to his squad who can take charge of games and link the attack.

He can be forgiven for looking enviously at the options available to Martinez. Rory Smith of the New York Times believes they have the best midfield in the tournament:

Belgium's opening goal came after Belgium were afforded too much space in midfield. Romelu Lukaku played in Nacer Chadli, who picked out Meunier to convert.

There were more chances for the Red Devils too. Kevin De Bruyne set up a great chance for Lukuku with a nutmeg pass through Manchester City teammate John Stones, but the forward's control allowed goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to steal the ball away. 

Sports writer Si Lloyd felt England allowed De Bruyne too much space and time:

The Manchester City man then helped underline Belgium's superiority in the final 10 minutes when he turned and slipped in Eden Hazard, who finished expertly to seal victory.

Belgium Look a Good Bet For Euro 2020

After securing their best-ever finish on the world stage, Belgium look a good bet to go for glory at the 2020 UEFA European Championship.

The Red Devils offer attacking threats from all over the pitch and have had 10 different goalscorers in Russia:

The majority of the Belgium squad will be in their primes when the tournament comes around. Lukaku is only 25, Thibaut Courtois is 26 and De Bruyne and Hazard are both 27.

Belgium's current crop of players, their golden generation, have often been accused of underachieving, but they will now feel they can go one step further next time out.

Victory over Brazil in the quarter-finals will have instilled belief in the players, while a narrow defeat to France in the last four may provide added motivation.