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Gareth Southgate was able to praise his England team’s spirit and cruelty. Statistics showed they scored three shots on goal and made two of them count when they called for a win over the number one ranked team in world soccer that they hope can provide a touchstone.
The England manager will not be fooled. Much remains to be done in the quest for creativity and offensive cohesion and Belgium left wondering how they had allowed a position of dominance to slip away, in their first loss since November 2018.
They led through Romelu Lukaku’s early penalty and, for long stretches, played more assertive football. But Belgium missed chances, mostly in the first half, and were left to regret the two defining moments: a controversial penalty that Marcus Rashford swept home after Jordan Henderson made a meal with minimal contact with Thomas Meunier, and a very deflected. Mount shot that turned out to be the winner.
However, if this had been a major tournament match, rather than a Nations League match, no English fan would have complained about the form of victory; they would simply have savored it. Perhaps, Henderson would also have been praised for his display of the dark arts of play.
England finished strong, with Harry Kane, as a substitute in the 66th minute, looking wide from a corner and Rashford shooting high after a beautiful counterattack with Declan Rice. After a terrible first half, England were much better in the second period and they could be happy with the way they largely beat Belgium, how they kept it at arm’s length.
It wasn’t particularly pretty, but it was a great result and the team will build on the confidence boost from their meeting with Denmark on Wednesday and the challenges afterward.
It looked like Southgate had returned to the future with his starting lineup. He featured three defenders and five survivors from the 2018 World Cup semi-final loss to Croatia, which would have been seven if Raheem Sterling hadn’t been injured and Kane conceded long enough just to be used off the bench.
Kane had missed most of the week’s training due to muscle fatigue or, to put it another way, a cramp.
Southgate had wanted to use the game to gauge England’s level and his players were always likely to set themselves a difficult task.
Belgium have been playing in a 3-4-3 system for longer than England and there was a fluidity from them from the start, sharp passing, rhythm on the channels.
The same couldn’t be said for England in the first half and it was difficult to explain how they reached the end at 1-1. Belgium was superior in all departments, pushing coherently and shutting down England. Southgate’s team struggled to get onto the field and there were times when it felt like a test.
The first goal exposed a mismatch in terms of pace between Eric Dier and Lukaku as they chased a ball down inside right. The Belgian center forward gave his man an advantage, but he vacuumed the ground and was in control of the situation when he entered the area. Dier was nervous and seemed to panic, slipping into a challenge that was risky to say the least. He didn’t get any of the ball and entered Lukaku’s legs. It was a disaster. Lukaku converted from the spot.
Belgium had fired warning shots. Lukaku couldn’t get past a header from a Timothy Castagne cross and Yannick Carrasco had the ball in the net only for an offside flag during preparation to deny it. After Lukaku’s penalty, Kevin De Bruyne worked with Jordan Pickford and Meunier volleyed past the post.
England built their lifeline out of thin air after Meunier put his hand on Henderson’s shoulder as they pushed into a corner. England’s substitute captain fell, his screams audible inside the empty stadium, and the German referee, Tobias Stieler, felt he was adding to a modern penalty. It’s highly doubtful that the contact was enough to drag Henderson away; he had done a number on Meunier. Rashford’s penalty was perfect.
The first half ended with Carrasco shooting wide after being set free by a beautiful Lukaku film and it was clear that England needed to regroup. They did so. There was more resistance from them in the second half, with higher starting positions and more pressure on the ball. Belgium no longer seemed like it could break through at will and England’s defensive work was safer. They were more compact and better on the cover.
Mount’s goal came after Kieran Trippier had recovered a deep cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold and he contained a bit of luck, his shot deflected from Toby Alderweireld and into the far top corner. The Tottenham defender had been a bit slow to close after Mount hit his right foot.
Belgium threatened when Carrasco knocked wide after a wonderful pass off the boot by De Bruyne and Kyle Walker, on the occasion of their 50th international, frustrated Lukaku twice. England had found a way.
