England lost their semi-final clash 2-1 against Croatia meaning they will now face Belgium on Saturday in the World Cup third place play-off.
Belgium lost their semi-final match against France and Roberto Martinez’s side will now have the chance to finish third in the 2018 World Cup. And by the looks of it, the Red Devils have got a serious advantage over the Three Lions.
Belgium and England were pitched in the same group and the former won the group stage encounter thanks to a solitary goal from Adnan Januzaj.
But that game meant very little for both the teams at that stage of the tournament given that both the sides have qualified for the knockout stages which made them field their second string side.
The World Cup third place play-off though will be a totally different affair as England will want to grab the opportunity of finishing third and Gareth Southgate is expected to name his strongest eleven.
But if reports are to be believed then the Three Lions could miss the services of three first-team players with injuries.
The trio of Kieran Trippier, Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker are expected to be absentees during Saturday’s World Cup third place encounter.
Trippier was an injury casualty late on in extra-time and the right-back had to be taken off the pitch with a groin strain.
On the other hand, both Kyle Walke and Jordan Henderson were substituted during the Croatia game and reports are of the view that the players are suffering from cramps and fatigue.
Despite the failure to reach the World Cup final, all the 23 players of the English squad is expected to be in Russia for the World Cup third place game but it will be interesting to see whether Gareth Southgate risks the three players on Saturday.
Up until now, all the players were playing for England but now that the dream of being World Cup champions have been squandered, a lot of the players will be thinking about the upcoming season with their respective clubs.
Read: ‘This’ is by far the best reply we have seen to England’s exit from the 2018 World Cup.
Read: England weren’t the only thing that Croatia knocked out during the World Cup semi-final.
