Belgium 2-0 England: 5 hits and flops as Three Lions are knocked out | UEFA Nations League 2020-21

Hit: Bukayo Saka (England)

Saka deserves to start for England

Having initially started on the England bench, Saka was subbed on for Ben Chilwell in the 38th minute after the Chelsea full-back went off injured. However, he ensured the latter wasn't missed by turning in a top drawer performance.

He oozed tremendous confidence on the ball, while his buccaneering runs down the left flank opened up spaces for the likes of Kane and Grealish to run onto.

The 19-year old's sublime crossing ability carved out some openings from his side of the pitch, while his set-piece delivery also called Courtois into action.

Saka laid more key passes than any English player on the night, while also registering a 94% pass success. He's a deserving starter for the Three Lions and tonight's game must have provided Southgate with more food for thought.

Flop: Kieran Trippier (England)

Southgate must never start Walker and Trippier together again

At this stage, one has to wonder if there's any point in starting Trippier. After a series of poor displays earlier in the Nations League campaign on the left, the Atletico Madrid full-back was back on familiar terrain on the right. However, it made little difference as he continued to be bog-standard.

Southgate's decision to play him as a right wing-back and Kyle Walker, a natural right-back, on the right side of a three-man defense was perplexing to begin with.

Then, when it came to delivering a free-kick in the first half, Mount stood up over it instead of Trippier, who's set-piece prowess is well-known. However, that alone won't be enough for him to keep his spot in the England team and he must quickly improve his performance.

Hit: Dries Mertens (Belgium)

Mertens has now scored in three consecutive games for Belgium for the first time

Leaving out both the scorers of the night wouldn't have been appropriate, especially when Mertens scored a superb free-kick. Tielemans, the other player on the scoresheet, was the better performer overall. However, the Napoli star's goal, his 21st for the Red Devils, was truly special and deserves a mention.

Dries Mertens fires in a second for Belgium with a brilliant free kick 🎯 pic.twitter.com/suPPG8xIik

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 15, 2020

Even though the free-kick was won just outside of the box, the angle was tight. De Bruyne is the player you'd normally expect to step up in situations like those, but he let Mertens have a go and the 33-year old made no mistake. He nonchalantly curved the ball into the bottom left corner, giving Jordan Pickford no chance in the England goal.