St. Petersburg, Russia: They are not be taking the Cup home but they may take their pride back when they face Belgium for FIFA World Cup 2018 third-place match on Saturday.
The two sides must pick themselves up and dust themselves down after suffering the crushing disappointment of semi-final defeats to play for the modest prize of third place in a fixture often criticized as pointless.
Belgium and England will be against each other for the FIFA World Cup 2018 semi-final match at St. Petersburg Stadium, St. Petersburg, Russia at 7.30pm.
Watch live streaming of Belgium vs England match on Sony Ten sports channel.
“Of course, we want to win, we’ll be ready to go again because the team take great pride in their performances. It’s a bit too early after that defeat to think about it.” said England coach Gareth Southgate.
His Belgian counterpart Roberto Martinez was similarly unenthused about the game after his side were beaten 1-0 by France on Tuesday.
The two teams previously met in their final group stage game when both had already guaranteed a place in the last 16 — with the twist that the side who finished second would land in the easier side of the draw.
The third-place match was dropped from the European championship by UEFA following the 1980 tournament but has remained part of the World Cup calendar despite complaints.
Both teams are in their second third-place match, Belgium having lost to France in 1986 and England to Italy four years later.
Source: Zee News