LAHORE: The last day of group stage football is finally here. Matchday 15 features fixtures for the teams of group G and group H. Four teams will join those who have already qualified in the round of 16.
Group H: It’s a very tough battle for qualification in group H, as three teams still seem to be in the race. Japan leads the group with 4 points and are ahead of Senegal only because of goal difference. Senegal are in 2nd place ahead of Colombia by 1 point. The Colombians face off against 2nd placed Senegal who have proven themselves to be strong competitors so far in the tournament. Should either of the two lose, they will be knocked out, however, should either of them win, they will go through. The odds are however in Senegal’s favour as even a draw is enough to take them through to the next round. Japan face off against Poland, who are last placed and can only act as a means for Japan to assure their qualification to the round of 16 at this point as they haven’t managed to secure even a single point from their world cup matches so far. Both matches will kick off at 7:00 pm.
Group G: The battle for qualification of Group G is the exact opposite of that in Group H, 2 teams have already qualified for the round of 16. England and Belgium are in 1st and 2nd place , both have 6 points having won all of their matches, Belgium and England have a match tonight at 11:00 pm, although a loss for either will not affect their chances for qualification, it might affect their standings in the group which in return will change their opponent for the next round. The other match from this group to be played at the same time is Tunisia vs Panama both have been unable to win any points but will want to end their world cup having recorded a win in their last match.
England vs Belgium:
This match kicks off at 11:00 pm today at the Kaliningrad Stadium, Russia.
England:
The 3 lions have done exceptionally well at the world cup so far, They’ve risen from a team expected to get knocked out right away to a team that might just go on to win the world cup. Harry Kane has been an absolute revelation in front of goal. Other English forwards such have Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling have also immensely impressed in both games. Apart from this England have a good record when it comes to Belgium, winning five and drawing 15 with Belgium just getting the better of them once in all their meetings.
England predicted XI: Pickford, Ashley young, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Rose, Dier, Delph, Dele Alli, Rashford, Kane
Belgium:
The Red Devils are a team with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku. They have no shortage of star players. However for this match, their first choice forward, Romelu Lukaku and their main man in midfield, Kevin De Bruyne are not expected to play as they are plagued with injuries, so we can expect a very different line up than usual for the Belgian squad. The Belgians are evenly matched with the three lions so the chances of us getting a draw out of this fixture are very high, but, the Red Devils will want to try and balance their match history with England a bit by winning this match.
Belgium Expected XI: Thibaut Courtois; Thomas Vermaelen, Dedryck Boyata, Toby Alderweireld; Mousa Dembele, Marouane Fellaini, Nacer Chadli, Youri Tielemans; Thorgan Hazard, Michy Batshuayi, Eden Hazard
Key Battle:
All eyes will be on Harry Kane tonight as he faces off against his teammate at Spurs, Toby Alderweireld. This battle could very well decide the match, Kane and Alderweireld both know each other’s moves already having faced off against each other countless times in training since they play for the same club, so it’ll be especially interesting to see who wins this clash.
Predicted Scoreline: England 3-2 Belgium
The 3 lions are in amazing form at the time and will go up against a team that has to replace many first-team players from their squad for the match. If England can take advantage of their opponent’s squad rotation, they could seriously hurt the red devils.
