England and Belgium brought the group stages to a far less than thrilling conclusion. Thankfully, Michy Batshuayi stepped up to provide the gif of the tournament after Adnan Januszaj’s winning goal.
Four Chelsea players started for England and Belgium for the match that decided who would face Japan and who would face Colombia. The game was a whimper by any standard, but two Chelsea players staked their claim for the knockout round starting XI.
Thibaut Courtois, Goalkeeper, Belgium: 6
Thibaut Courtois had one of those quiet nights between the sticks where he could daydream about how much he would rather play in Madrid than London. England only put two shots on target, and both were very unthreatening. England’s midfield did more to silence Jamie Vardy than Belgium’s back-line, who were there for the taking if the Three Lions had any interest in taking. Courtois’ opposite number, Jordan Pickford, was much busier and made several highlight-reel saves. But the Chelsea keeper had plenty of time to think through his next ill-timed comment about his contract negotiations.
Gary Cahill, Centre-back, England: 8
Gareth Southgate replaced John Stones with Harry Maguire at half-time. This moved Gary Cahill from the left, where he played the first half, to the centre of the back-line. Was this a case of Southgate wanting to rest Stones? Or did Southgate want to test and observe Cahill in two positions among the defence?
The latter option is more plausible than it may seem. Cahill was – as usual, as expected – a rockon defence. Early in the first half, a gaggle of Red Devils were scuffing the ball around the doorstep of England’s goal. The ball came lose to Michy Batshuayi, who kicked it towards the corner of the net. Cahill slid in to clear the ball to safety as it was halfway over the line. Minutes later, Cahill rose highest on a corner kick to send a header just wide.
Cahill – as usual, as expected – did everything right. Unfortunately for Cahill, though, Harry Maguire was better on the left. His incisive passing broke England out of their zone on transitions, and he has a much better sense and ability to push forward on offence. John Stones would have to be disastrous to fall out of Southgate’s favour, and he wasn’t. Maguire made as much of a case for the starting XI as Cahill did, and has so far been Southgate’s preference. Gareth Southgate has the good problem of having too many capable players to choose from. But that problem will likely become Gary Cahill’s problem in the knock-out rounds.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Midfielder, England: 8
Loftus-Cheek should no longer be fighting for his place in England’s starting XI. His night was a mixed bad statistically, but that was mainly because he was doing so much for the otherwise tepid team. His five dribbles balanced out the five times he was dispossessed. He did not have a good sync with Trent Alexander-Arnold or Jamie Vardy, but he and Marcus Rashford paved the way to the future.
Loftus-Cheek’s should have no more question marks over his head at Chelsea or England. At least Gareth Southgate seems to know what to do with him.
Michy Batshuayi, Striker, Belgium: 6 + 2
The game did not require any last-minute heroics, so Michy Batshuayi did not find the back of the net. But he did find his forehead and yet another bout of viral fame in his better-than-a-Fortnite-celebration celebration after Adnan Janusaj’s goal. He had a relatively quiet game, hence the six.
But he earns two bonus points for giving us some comic relief in a bland game, followed by his usual grace and aplomb on Twitter afterwards.
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