Simon Mignolet, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold were unused subs as England lost to Belgium in the World Cup third-place match.
Both national teams lost their respective semi-finals during the week, setting up this repeat clash from the group stages in St. Petersburg.
While Alexander-Arnold and Mignolet have almost exclusively been subs throughout the tournament, Henderson has been a regular starter for England.
Having suffered from slight hamstring strain across the last two games, though, the Liverpool skipper was not risked on this occasion—but wing-back Kieran Trippier was, despite coming off injured in the semi-finals, meaning Trent missed out on more action.
Goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard gave Belgium a 2-0 win and the bronze medal in Russia, while England settle for fourth place—their best finish since 1990.
Henderson played five times in Russia and had an overall extremely impressive tournament, emerging as a real leader of the nation team and winning praise from many pundits.
Alexander-Arnold made his only appearance in the final group game, against Belgium, but has plenty of time ahead of him to make a bigger impact at a major finals.
Mignolet was unused as Belgium’s backup goalkeeper throughout the tournament.
Sunday sees France and Croatia do battle in Moscow in the World Cup final, with Dejan Lovren a starter for the latter nation.
Fan Comments