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England came back from being behind to pull an upset over Belgium thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount after Romelu Lukaku had handed Belgium the lead from the spot. It was all Belgium in the first half as England struggled to get a foothold in the game.
The visitors even had a goal scored by Yannick Carrasco chalked off before Eric Dier's clumsy challenge on Romelu Lukaku won them a penalty. Lukaku converted from the spot without any fuss. However, Thomas Meunier would return the favour for England by conceding a penalty.
It was Marcus Rashford who stroked it home from the spot for the Three Lions. They showed a lot more self-belief in the second half and it would be fair to say that they earned the result for all their industry post the restart. Mason Mount then scored thanks to a giant deflection from Toby Alderweireld to make it 2-1 in the 64th minute.
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It was a toughly contested affair and as we have seen so often in the past, there is very little margin for error in these games.
Let's take a look at the hits and flops from the game.
#5 Hit - Marcus Rashford (England)
It has been a good week for Marcus Rashford, MBE and he topped it off with a thumping penalty to restore parity. Rashford posed a threat to the Belgian defence throughout the night with his movement. He started the night looking a bit low on confidence but grew into it as the game went on.
Rashford converted emphatically from the spot after Thomas Meunier's foul on Jordan Henderson. The Manchester United is gaining some valuable minutes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in particular, will be pleased with the performance that the youngster put in tonight as he looks to be regaining the sharpness that's been lacking of late.
#4 Flop - Thomas Meunier (Belgium)
Thomas Meunier did cover a lot of ground tonight but it was his clumsy challenge on Jordan Henderson which kickstarted England's resurgence. Meunier lost track of his man as England were preparing to take a corner and he oddly held on to Henderson's shirt and bundled him to the ground.
It was not an out-and-out dismal display from the Belgian defender but it was his error that cost Belgium their lead. But it was that kind of game and it was his mistake that ultimately gave a stuttering England side the confidence to come back and earn the victory against Belgium today
#3 Hit - Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium)
Kevin De Bruyne captained Belgium on the night and was one of the best players on the pitch. He ran the game at times and had some really special moments. He kept the Belgian midfield ticking and was key to Belgium dominating the first half.
The Manchester City man played some excellent defence splitting passes, the best of which came right before he was taken off when he played an excellent outside of the boot pass to take 6 defenders out of the game and release Carrasco on goal.
However, Carrasco couldn't convert and Belgium did not find their equalizer. England would have been relieved to see him being taken off in the 73rd minute.
#2 Flop - Eric Dier (England)
Played at the heart of England's defence and had yet another awkward outing. Eric Dier lunged into Romelu Lukaku and conceded a penalty in the first half. It was a ball that Dier had no chance of getting to and he went for an inept challenge anyway rather inexplicably.
Eric Dier has been doing this quite often now and he does not look like someone who can be trusted with dispensing defensive duties regularly. For some reason, both his managers, Jose Mourinho and Gareth Southgate seem to fancy him at centre-back but it's difficult to see why.
#1 Hit - Kyle Walker (England)
The Manchester City full-back was excellent at the right side of England's three-man defence and picked up Eric Dier's slack. Walker is not a big fan of the three at the back system, but he is excellent playing in that setup.
Walker reads the game really well and also has incredible pace which means that getting past him is nearly impossible when he's on top of his game. Not only did he cover for Dier, he also made sure that Belgium did not exploit the space left in behind by Trent-Alexander Arnold.
Walker always looked confident on the ball and was easily England's best player on the pitch. As Belgium ramped up their pursuit of the equalizer, it was Walker that kept them at bay and he earned his vindication for that red card he picked up against Iceland.
If Walker keeps playing like this, he could become a fixture in the back three with Trent-Alexander Arnold operating in front of him.
