England’s task to keep their realistic Nations League hopes alive was to pick up an away win against the number one ranked side in the world: Belgium. Unfortunately for them, the Three Lions shot themselves in the foot by conceding two first-half goals, which gave them an absolute mountain to climb in Leuven. Just nine minutes into the contest, Youri Tielemans opened the scoring with a fantastic drive from just outside the D. Dries Mertens got on the scoresheet in his hometown to make it two, as the former Stade Leuven academy player scored a brilliant free-kick midway through the first period.
From that point, it was England who constantly knocked on the door, as the Red Devils were happy to defend deep and allow the away side to have the ball in front of them. However, the damage was already done and England failed to haul themselves back into the game.
This tactical analysis will examine the tactics that Roberto Martinez and Gareth Southgate used.
Line-ups
Both teams played a 3-4-2-1 formation. For Belgium, Real Madrid stopper Thibaut Courtois started between the sticks, behind a back three of Toby Alderweireld, Jason Denayer, and Jan Vertonghen. Thorgan Hazard and Thomas Meunier started at wing-back. Youri Tielemans and Axel Witsel were the two deeper-lying midfielders, with Kevin De Bruyne and Dries Mertens ahead of them in slightly wider positions. Romelu Lukaku led the line.
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