World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Belgium beat England 2-0

Belgium attained their best ever finish in a World Cup after beating England in the third/fourth playoffs to clinch bronze as Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard got on target.

In an inconsequential game where there's little else aside from pride at the stakes, it unsurprisingly turned out to be a cagey affair with both sides producing the quality moments in only bits and parts.

The Red Devils made the stronger start to the game, however, and took the lead inside five minutes when Nacer Chadli stormed towards the area and laid off for Meunier to tap home the opener.

The Three Lions looked unimaginative and utterly listless for large spells of the game and were caught off-guard again late in the match when Belgium once again broke on the counter with Hazard applying the finishing touches to a well-worked move.

The outcome may have little ramifications in the competition, but it was a consolation for the Belgians nonetheless, who finished third - their best World Cup result.

Here are three reasons why they won tonight:

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#1 Belgium caught England off-guard with a rapid start

Meunier broke the deadlock after just four minutes

Belgium flew out of the blocks from the opening whistle to make a bright start to the game. They dominated possession and wasted no time to push forward.

Lukaku found Chadli unmarked down the left and released him with a defence-splitting pass as the West Brom star then scythed down the flank before laying off for Meunier to sneak in and tap home the opener.

England's defence was stunned like a deer in the headlights. John Stones and Harry Maguire were well out of position while there was no one to track the PSG defender's run down the right flank.

Belgium refused to rest on their laurels and continued to press high as the front three of Lukaku, De Bruyne and Hazard ran the rings around the Three Lions defence with quick and slick passes.

By the end of half-time, Belgium had already mustered six shots with one of them finding the net.

England was left chasing shadows for a good measure of that period as Belgium's rapid start to the match clearly shackled them and were lucky to head into the break just a goal down.

#2 Eden Hazard's brilliance

Hazard signed off in style

Hazard has set the Premier League alight with his performances for Chelsea since bursting on to the scene for the first time in 2013.

However, he was yet to replicate those heroics with his national side on an international stage. But even that box has been ticked now after a stellar World Cup campaign.

He may not have led them to the ultimate prize, but played an instrumental role in the side's best ever finish with two goals and as many assists coming into the game. Today, he signed off in style with another talismanic display.

He got the ball in dangerous positions and caused all sorts of headaches to the English defence with his relentless dribbles: he completed seven on the night (twice more than any other player) and also laid three key passes.

Majority of Belgium's chance in the second-half came on the break and Hazard was at the heart of it all with terrific passing. But his best contribution of the night was when he rounded one of those moves to put the tie to bed.

Once again, England was caught out on the left as De Bruyne released Hazard with an incisive pass and the Chelsea star made no mistake, whipping one low beyond Pickford to double Belgium's lead.

With another fine performance, Hazard has strengthened his case for the Golden Ball award.

#3 When England grew in the match, Belgium held on its own

Belgium stood firm when England drove forward

Make no mistake, England never really threatened in the match. In fact, they were abject when it came to creativity. But there were a few moments when they came close to pulling it out of the fire, only for Belgium to be on hand to deny them each time.

Raheem Sterling connected to Eric Dier's long pass inside the area but laid off for an on-rushing Kane.

Alderweireld read his movement well and forced him into blasting his effort into the stands. There were moments like these when England tried to create something, but lack of ingenuity and inventiveness meant they looked perplexed after getting near the area.

Dier perhaps came the closest to scoring in the second half when he beat the Belgian defence on the right flank and chipped over Courtois, only for Alderweireld, once again, to clear the ball off the line.

It was the highlight of England's best spell in the match when they upped the ante and really appeared to make efforts. But Belgian didn't put a foot wrong, clearing their lines to get the ball out of the harm's way.

Even England's greatest weapon in the tournament, the set-pieces, lacked the flair as Courtois had no trouble whatsoever while collecting them.

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