World Cup 2018: Hits and flops from the game - Belgium 2-0 England

Belgium ran out comfortable winners against England in their FIFA World Cup third-place playoff game between the two sides at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. The Red Devils registered their highest ever World Cup finish with a resounding 2-0 win over the Three Lions, to cap off a memorable campaign in Russia.

Roberto Martinez's men were rewarded for their swift attacking football as early as in the 4th minute when Thomas Meunier managed to sneak home an early tap-in after he conjured a cheeky run into the penalty area from the right flank that went unnoticed, thanks to Danny Rose's lack of awareness. Belgium slowly established their control over the game and ended the first forty-five as the stronger outfit.

However, Gareth Southgate responded by making two changes at half-time and England benefited from the breath of fresh air as they pushed for a goal that could restore parity between the two sides.

Belgium's resolute defending coupled with England's inability to provide the telling touch in the final third meant that the scores remained intact until the 82nd minute when Eden Hazard doubled his side's lead following a swift counter-attacking move.

The result helped Belgium register their best ever finish to a World Cup campaign while England equaled their best ever World Cup run on foreign soil with a fourth-placed finish, just like in Italy back in 1990. Without further delay, let's take a closer look at the best and worst performers from the game:

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#5 Best - Ruben Loftus-Cheek (England)

Loftus-Cheek produced a sublime performance in midfield

The Chelsea midfielder was England's best performer against Belgium and put in a sublime shift down the right hand side, making a few daring runs deep inside Belgium's final third.

Despite having nothing to show for his stellar display, Ruben Loftus-Cheek caught the eye with his exquisite dribbling and direct approach that showed a lot of intent from the youngster even in the first half when England were not at their best.

Loftus-Cheek was constantly trying to make runs in behind Jan Vertonghen in the second half and almost succeeded in setting up one of his teammates during a number of instances, as England tried to push on for an equalizer.

The 22-year-old looked dangerous every time he had the ball at his feet and was not shy of putting in the hard yards whenever he was chasing it.

If his performance is anything to go by, then it is as clear as daylight that Loftus-Cheek will thrive under Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge, if at all he is given the opportunity in the first place.

#4 Worst - Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)

Lukaku struggled to find his rhythm against England

The third place playoff between the two sides was earmarked to be the race for the Golden boot between Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane to a certain extent, and both strikers flattered to deceive in front of goal.

Kane was pretty much an isolated figure for prolonged periods while Lukaku squandered a number of glorious opportunities to add to his goal tally for the tournament.

The Manchester United striker was played through on goal not once but twice by Kevin De Bruyne and in similar fashion too but Lukaku's touch was too heavy on both occasions, allowing Jordan Pickford to come off his line and collect the ball comfortably.

Apart from playing an exquisite ball down the left to release Nacer Chadli in the build-up to Belgium's opening goal, Lukaku did not make any significant contribution before he was replaced right on the hour mark by Dries Mertens.

#3 Best - Thomas Meunier (Belgium)

Meunier opened the scoring for Belgium

Thomas Meunier became Belgium's tenth different goal-scorer of the tournament after he made a stunning run from the right flank to get on the end of a pin-point cross from Nacer Chadli to open the scoring for Belgium.

That was exactly what he did throughout the game against England and made a mockery out of Danny Rose in the first half. The full-back bombed forward whenever he sensed an opportunity and was a handful for the English defenders on countless occasions.

Meunier, who took no part in Belgium's semi-final loss against France due to suspension, showed what the Red Devils were missing in that game and acted as a reliable attacking outlet on the right flank.

The 26-year-old was also an integral part of Belgium's counter-attacking exploits during the game and raised a few concerns for the English defenders.

#2 Worst - Danny Rose (England)

Rose did not do himself any favours with that performance

Danny Rose was handed a starting role by Gareth Southgate against Belgium in a bid to bolster their attacking options down the left flank but the move tremendously backfired as the full-back struggled to keep up with Thomas Meunier, who constantly made daring runs behind the Englishman.

Rose was caught napping as early as in the 4th minute during the build-up to Belgium's opening goal when he was indulged in ball watching and failed to notice Meunier's run from behind him that allowed the Belgian to find the back of the net.

There was no going back from that calamitous start for the Tottenham Hotspur man and he failed to get into the groove before being taken off at half-time, to cap off yet another disappointing outing for his country.

#1 Best - Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)

De Bruyne played a starring role for his side

The Manchester City midfielder is arguably one of the best play-makers in world football at the moment, and he reaffirmed his status at the top of that list with yet another convincing performance for Belgium against England.

It was a close shout between him and Toby Alderweireld for top spot on this list but the midfielder just about edged the battle after he registered an assist to his name after providing the killer pass for Eden Hazard's goal late on in the second half.

De Bruyne was at his influential best during the game and acted as the conductor who carried out the responsibility of turning defence into attack with his incisive passing and uncompromising movement off the ball.

The Belgian also contributed massively to his side's swift counter-attacking moves that yielded the right kind of results for The Red Devils.