Hazard scores as Belgium beat England 2-0 to win Russia 2018 bronze medal

Hazard scores as Belgium beat England 2-0 to win Russia 2018 bronze medal

- Belgium are the third best country in the world after beating England 2-0 to win Russia 2018 bronze medal

- Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard are the goals scorers for the Red Devils as the Three Lions failed to score in their final game

- This victory means that Roberto Martinez's men defeated the English national team on both occasions they met in this tournament

Belgium wrap up their 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia with a 2-0 win to claim bronze medal in the championship.

Thomas Meunier opened scoring for the Red Devils through a simple tap in from a Nacer Chadli curvy pass in the 4th minute.

Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard sealed the victory for Roberto Martinez's men with a superb goal with just eight minutes left in the open play.

Towards the end of the game, Kevin De Bruyne had a few chances to make the scoreline increase but the superb defending from England players ensured the result ended 2-0.

Gareth Southgate's men also had a couple of chances but their finishing touches in this encounter was poor, while Thibaut Coutois was responsible for saving some of the balls from entering the net.

In the 70th minute, England had a chance to level up but a superb goal line clearance from Toby Alderweireld ensured the Belgians kept a clean sheet in that game.

However, with this victory, Belgium have now won two of their four games in FIFA organised championship - having lost one and drawn another in their first three before this game.

Please read our live update below

93' And the referee sounded the final whistle as the Belgians finished third in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

90' Three additional minutes have been added to the game

86' John Stones' timely interception stopped De Bruyne from registering his name on the scores sheet following a late pass from Hazard

84' Dele Alli comes on for Ruben Loftus-Cheek as they hope to do something meaningful with just six minutes left in the open play

82' Goaaaaaalllllll Eden Hazard with the superb finish after a fantastic pass from De Bruyne

81' Disappointing finish from Marcus Rashford after a calmly bringing down a long pass in Belgium's danger zone

80' Superb counter attacking move from Belgium but Pickford denied the Red Devils a chance to double their lead after saving Meunier's volley

78' Mousa Dembele replaces Youri Tielemans in a tactical substitution

76' Poor finishing from Dries Mertens who wasted a Kevin De Bruyne pass

74' Witsel with a careless tackle on Lingard but Trippier's set piece was headed out of play as Belgium wins a goal kick

72' Kompany once again steps up to head Trippier's free kick out of play as England wins a corner kick but it has gone out of play in favour of the Three Lions

72' Vincent Kompany hacks Marcus Rashford down in about 30 yards away from goal as England wins a free kick

70' What a goal line clearance from Toby Alderweireld as he denied Eric Dier a chance to level up for England

69' Eric Dier with a low but weak shot and it went straight into the hands of Thibaut Courtois

67' Another great miss by England as Loftus-Cheek's cross failed to find any player in Red jersey inside Belgium's danger zone

63' What a fantastic interception from Fabian Delph as he averted a potential danger from the Belgian side

60' Dries Mertens coming on for Romelu Lukaku shortly after missing that superb pass from De Bruyne

58' Great interception from Fabian Delph as he dispossessed Meunier to sep up an England attack

57' Romelu Lukaku should have put that at the back of the net but wasn't fast enough to catch up with De Bruyne's slow pass in England's danger zone

55' Harry Kane failed to connect with Jesse Lingard's shot-like pass as they trail the Belgians with less than 35 minutes to play

54' England with a counter attacking move from an Eden Hazard's intercepted move but Alderweireld headed the ball out of danger

52' John Stones given a yellow card for fouling Eden Hazard at the center of the pitch while he was trying to create an attacking move for his side

50' Thomas Vermaelen gives a free kick away on the right flank as Trippier takes the kick for England but Vertonghen was in the right place to clear the danger

49' England with a beautiful attacking move but unfortunately they were poor with the final ball

46' England with the kick off in the second half and barely one minute after Loftus-Cheek had a chance but failed to utilise it well

Double half time substitutions for England as Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard replace Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling

45'+2 Lukaku got a fantastic pull out but his last touch on the ball was blocked as the referee signaled the end of the first half of the game

45' Kevin De Bruyne tried to give his side the second game but his shot was blocked by England's defenders

40' England with the attack as they are still looking for their first of this game but Vincent Kompany halted their attack

39' What a nice interception from Trippier after De Bruyne tried to find Eden Hazard with a superb pass in the danger zone

37' Nacer Chadli currently receiving treatment from the medical team after pulling a hamstring in his side's attack

35' Alderweireld's unexpected shot could have handed Belgium their second goal but the ball went a little above the post

33' Belgium on the attack as they are hovering in front of Belgium's danger zone, but the Three Lions defenders have been decent, deflecting Hazard's close range shot to corner

30' Throwing for England and it is quickly taken by Danny Rose as England are begging for their opening game

25' England are beginning to settle down well into this game as they are trying to grab an equaliser before the half-hour mark

23' What a miss by Harry Kane as he lost the chance to equalise for England and also take his tally for the competition to seven goals

20' What a good run by Loftus-Cheek but his square pass into Belgium's danger zone was cleared by Kompany

19' Referee Alireza Faghani ignores Lukaku's plea for a free kick after being tripped by two Belgium players

17' Romelu Lukaku with a fantastic chance on the left side of the box but too many touches made him lose possession of the ball

13' Tielemans dispossessed Sterling in his attempt to penetrate Belgium's defence but the quick counter launced by the Red Devils also was unfruitful

12' What a miss by De Bruyne as he tried to place Jordan Pickford to double his side's lead in the game

10' Trippier's cross from the free kick couldn't find any player in the red shirt as Courtois once again saved the loose ball

9' Tielemans fouls Harry Kane while the striker was trying to move the ball forward and looking for who to pass to.

7' England tried to create something just a moment ago but their attack was saved by Courtois

4' Gooaaaalllllll Thomas Meunier scores for Belgium from a simple tap in through a Chadli cross after beating Danny Rose in England's 18-yard box

1' We are underway here at the Saint Petersburg Stadium as Belgium play from left to right in their yellow and black jersey while England are dressed in Red Jersey and while short playing from eight to left

Belgium line up

1 Courtois, 2 Alderweireld, 4 Kompany, 5 Vertonghen, 6 Witsel, 7 De Bruyne, 9 Lukaku, 10 Hazard, 15 Meunier, 17 Tielemans, 22 Chadli

England line up

1 Pickford, 3 Rose, 4 Dier, 5 Stones, 6 Maguire, 9 Kane, 10 Sterling, 12 Trippier, 16 Jones, 17 Delph, 21 Loftus-Cheek

- Belgium and England face themselves in a Group G rematch as they battle for Russia 2018 bronze medal

- They met earlier in this competition with Adnan Januzaz scoring the only goal that handed the Red Devils victory over Southgate's men

- This will be the third time both sides will be meeting in a FIFA organised competition

Belgium and England have a chance to wrap up their 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign with a medal as they battle for the third place finished on Saturday, July 14 at the Saint Petersburg Stadium.

Both sides will be meeting for the second time in this competition having played out a 1-0 at the group stage in favour of the Red Devils.

Adnan Januzaz scored the only goal of the game which saw Roberto Martinez's side emerge Group G leaders with nine points from three matches.

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Having defeated Panama and Tunisia 3-0 and 5-2 respectively in their first two group games.

But they failed to reach their first ever World Cup final following their slim defeat to France at the semifinal stage earlier this week.

England on the other hand were beaten 2-1 by Croatia in the second semifinals on Wednesday evening.

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Russia 2018: Belgium vs England 3rd place match (time, venue and lineups)
Russia 2018: Belgium vs England stats - credit: FIFA

The Three Lions led the game as early as the 5th minute but goals from Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic ensured the Croats edge that game after 120 minutes.

Gareth Southgate's men finished second on Group G table with six points and went ahead to beat Colombia and Sweden at the round of 16 and quarterfinal stages.

However, they ran out of fuel to progress to the final to have a shot at winning the title for the first time since 1966.

Key Stats

The two teams have met three times in a FIFA organised championship and they both have won one game apiece while the third ended up in a draw.

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This is the second time Belgium is playing in the third-place play off after losing to France in the first one in 1986.

Belgium is the only side to have beaten at least one team from all 5 continents in this World Cup.

England will be looking to win 5 matches in a single World Cup campaign since 1966.

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England will be playing in the third place play off for only the second time after losing to Italy in 1990.

Harry Kane is the leading scorer of the World Cup with 6 goals and is poised to be the first English player since Gary Linekar to win the Golden Boot, with his only competition being the Belgian Romelu Lukaku.

Legit.ng previously reported that Belgium defeated England in their final group game 1-0 with Adnan Januzaj scoring the only goal of the game in the second half.

Both teams started the match with their second string side and played predictably in the first half as the duo know they have progressed into the next stage.

Chances were few and far between in the first 45 minutes as the only talking point of the half was when Youri Tielemansb forced a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford in the sixth minute.

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