England and Belgium will both look to return to winning ways when they square up against each other at Wembley.
With the UEFA Euro 2024 fast approaching, both England and Belgium are looking to gear up for the continental tournament in the best possible way. Unfortunately, they did not start this international break with a win and will be eager to bounce back on Tuesday.
England had a sensational qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2024. They finished atop Group C and remained unbeaten. After a dominating qualifying campaign, they squared up against South American giants Brazil in their first friendly of the international break.
The fixture did not really go according to plan as their star-studded attack failed to find the back of the net against an inexperienced Brazil defence. Eventually, they conceded and ended up losing 1-0. As a result, the Three Lions will be eager to return to winning ways when they host Belgium.
The visitors were also dominant in the qualifying stage. They finished top of their group with six wins and two draws. Belgium were on a six-match winning streak going up against the Republic of Ireland. Everyone expected them to come out on top with ease.
Unfortunately, they struggled to create chances despite having the majority of the ball. They ended up playing out a 0-0 draw. The visitors will have to put up a much better performance if they want to take away anything from their fixture against England. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
England
Gareth Southgate had to deal with quite a few absentees in their first friendly against Brazil and things seem to have gone from bad to worse as Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and Sam Johnstone have all withdrawn from the squad.
It has resulted in Rico Lewis and James Trafford, who are yet to earn a cap at the senior level, getting promoted to the first team. Meanwhile, Harry Kane has also been ruled out, while Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson, who also missed the fixture against Brazil, are still a doubt.
Southgate will stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation, where Jordan Pickford will be in goal. Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez will be the full-backs. In the heart of the defence, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite should start alongside John Stones.
Manchester United’s teenage sensational Kobbie Mainoo will start alongside Declan Rice as the two holding midfielders. Jude Bellingham will feature as the attacking midfielder, while Jarrod Bowen and Marcus Rashford should start on the flanks. Brentford ace Ivan Toney should be lead the line for England against Belgium in Kane’s absence.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Konsa, Stones, Branthwaite, Gomez; Mainoo, Rice; Bowen, Bellingham, Rashford; Toney
Belgium
Domenico Tedesco’s team could have a major boost as their all-time Romelu Lukaku, who was absent from their previous game, could make a return here.
Tedesco will make quite a few changes to the XI that started last time out. But, he will stick to the 4-3-3 formation. Luton Town’s Thomas Kaminski, who made a substitute appearance in their last fixture, should start here.
Thomas Meunier and Olivier Deman will be the full-backs for the visitors. Meanwhile, in the heart of the defence, Wout Faes could pair up with Arthur Theate. The back four will aim for a clean sheet against a strong English outfit.
Amadou Onana should be the holding midfielder. He will have the support of Youri Tielemans and teenage sensation Arthur Vermeeren. They will look to ensure the home team do not end up dictating the pace of this game. On the flanks, they will have Jeremy Doku and Johan Bakayoko. The duo will look to stretch the opposition defence while their all-time top scorer Romelu Lukaku will lead the line.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Kaminski; Meunier, Faes, Theate, Deman; Tielemans, Onana, Vermeeren; Bakayoko, Lukaku, Doku
Key Stats
- Both England and Belgium failed to win their previous outing and neither of them managed to find the back of the net.
- The defeat at the hands of Brazil was England’s first at Wembley in over four years.
- The Three Lions have not suffered back-to-back defeats at home in friendlies since 2013.
- Belgium have been unbeaten in their last 12 outings.
- The visitors have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three outings.
Player to Watch
Jude Bellingham
England will look to return to winning ways when they host Belgium at Wembley. Gareth Southgate will hope Bellingham steps up and delivers a standout performance to help them avoid a situation where they potentially lose two home games in a row at home, which has not happened since 2013.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has been on fire in the ongoing season for his new club Real Madrid. He has 20 goals and nine assists in his 31 outings, and the England boss will hope he delivers a similar sort of performance.
Prediction
England 2-1 Belgium
Both teams have a lot of quality in their ranks. While neither of them won in their previous outing, they are expected to give it all in this fixture in search of a win. It is going to be a closely fought encounter.
While England will be without quite a few of their star players despite that they might have enough quality in their ranks to come out on top here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the home team.