Jude Bellingham’s late equaliser saved England from their second consecutive Wembley loss as Gareth Southgate’s reshuffled side salvaged a point against Belgium. Unfortunately, however, defensive errors from Jordan Pickford and Lewis Dunk – such as allowing Youri Tielemans’ opener – threatened to cost England dearly. In this article, we will discuss England vs Belgium footall matches.
1. Brazil vs England
Gareth Southgate was disappointed to see his plans to field England’s strongest team against Brazil be derailed by injuries to Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and Sam Johnstone; nevertheless he fielded a strong squad at Wembley with Manchester City youngsters such as Jeremy Doku and Kobbie Mainoo seizing their opportunity.
At times frantic first half saw Three Lions searching for an equaliser as Brazil’s pace and fast interchanges were making light work of England’s leaky defence. But home side’s lack of final product cost them, Lucas Paqueta from West Ham cutting wide before half time while Rodrygo shot wastefully over.
Second half play was much quieter, although England’s attacking trio of Phil Foden, Joe Gomez and Jarred Bowen looked dangerous when combined, drawing fouls from Jan Vertonghen that led to Ivan Toney’s first half penalty kick. England striker Mainoo flashed wide before being fouled by Jude Bellingham for an additional penalty kick from Ivan Toney.
Mainoo scored superbly to give England a 2-2 draw, sandwiched between Youri Tielemans’ two goals that resulted from England defensive mishaps, both scored by Youri Tielemans himself. Fans had plenty to enjoy beyond these moments as Jarred Bowen and Ivan Toney made their mark and displayed impressive abilities ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier against Moldova next month – it was certainly encouraging performance!
2. Spain vs England
At first, the game started slowly. Lamine Yamal showed his mettle early, challenging Kyle Walker for possession and setting up an impressive run into the box before being denied by Everton fullback Leighton Baines and England appearing to claim an early advantage.
Marc Cucurella then gave Mikel Oyarzabal the opportunity to score. England had several chances, but were unable to take advantage of them.
But the game came alive during the second half. Jordan Pickford allowed Youri Tielemans to score with an unforced lob, before Lewis Dunk rushed his clearance against Jeremy Doku and conceded a free-kick that Chelsea forward Victor Moses converted into his second goal of the tournament.
Gareth Southgate’s team seemed doomed as Spain continued their advance, but then came Cole Palmer. Not letting on his Arsenal winger failed him either – dribbling into the box before striking home an outstanding low shot that left no chance for the goalkeeper to save.
England’s 2-1 win marked their third time upstaging one of Europe’s top five in a major tournament and came against a rival that had been ranked fourth globally at that time. A crucial win propelled England into third place in Group E and set them on course for a quarter-final clash against Brazil. The success of young squad was significant and gave underdogs hope of moving past Group E. This was the first game ever held between both teams without a goal, and many fans would have preferred for it to end as a draw. Both sides can take pride in fighting back from deficits in the closing minutes, never giving up. Both sets of fans will long remember this exciting contest!
3. France vs England
On Saturday at Wembley Stadium, England will face France in a quarter-final match that could signal a new rivalry between them. France boast one of the finest squads around and have had great success at international tournaments; England have failed to advance beyond group stages at major tournaments for some time; they must make strides forward this summer in order to take an important step.
Gareth Southgate will use his match against France as an opportunity to put his Three Lions up against a top five side in terms of world rankings. They boast some exciting young players under coach Southgate and should feel confident of making it to the last four, but know this challenge poses immense obstacles against an opponent such as France, who finished second at 2018 World Cup behind Harry Kane’s stars.
At Wembley Stadium, both sides had ample chances to take control of the match in a frenetic first half that saw both Ivan Toney miss a penalty for England and have one goal disallowed due to offside, while Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens of Belgium scored twice to give their hosts a two-goal edge at halftime. Both Toney and Jarrod Bowen had chances for England in the second half, while Kobbie Mainoo was denied by Matz Sels’ quick thinking save from Matz Sels.
England have fared much better against France than other teams in this competition despite losing to the Netherlands, having never lost to them competitively and winning six of their previous encounters with them (such as an impressive 5-0 victory at Euro 2022 qualifiers and 4-1 triumph in 2024 UEFA European Championship qualifying matches).
4. Germany vs England
Classic games don’t come any more timeless or thrilling than England versus Germany, a fixture with decades of history that has produced many memorable moments over time – including two heartbreaking penalty shootout defeats in major tournaments. Yet when compared against Spain, Italy and France’s powerhouse performances, England seems less impressive against Germany.
Gareth Southgate must address England’s inability to win in Germany since 1966 as one of his main priorities ahead of their 2024 European Championship qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for early June. After suffering an embarrassing 1-0 loss against Brazil in their most recent international friendly matchup, England must find ways to overcome that defeat before starting their tournament campaign.
Kyle Walker will likely miss up to six weeks following a knee injury he sustained against Brazil, so Declan Rice will step in as captain for this match and mark 50 appearances with England. Southgate can use this game as an opportunity to evaluate Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Jarred Bowen – players that impressed in their first 45 minutes at Wembley but need goals soon if England are going to avoid another early exit. To know more about sports like football, cricket, kabaddi, polo and many more just follow us: https://sportsbyte.co.uk/
