Twarit Khel: Belgium dethrone England to top Group G in FIFA World Cup 2018

Belgium brushed aside England 1-0 in their Group G encounter to take the top spot in the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup at Kaliningrad Stadium here on Thursday (local time).<br />Both Belgium and England, who already qualified to the round of 16 prior to this game, needed a win to top the group table.<br />Right from the beginning, Belgium played attacking football, targeting for the net to gain an early advantage.<br />England's defence came under pressure as the defenders and midfielders repeatedly thwarted Belgium's chances of gaining an upper hand in the match.<br />However, in the first 10 minutes, Belgium made two attempts to score a goal.<br />In the 6th minute, Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans almost found the net but was spectacularly saved by English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.<br />In the 10th minute, striker Michy Batshuayi, helped by a pass almost scored a goal. However, the ball was blocked by English defender Gary Cahill.<br />Thereafter, England pulled up its socks on seeing Belgium being charged up and both teams played attacking football in the remaining first half.<br />In the second half, Belgium once again surprised England with its attacking prowess on the field.<br />The deadlock was finally broken after Belgian midfielder Adnan Januzaj played a brilliant shot outside the penalty area, via a pass by Tielemans, to give his team the first goal in the 51st minute.<br />In the 66th minute, England nearly scored an equaliser when forward Marcus Rashford played a fantastic straight shot, only to be blocked by Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.<br />England tried hard to score an equaliser, but the Belgian players were sharp and repeatedly frustrated the 1966 champions from making any strides.<br />With this victory, Belgium have won all their three group stage games in consecutive World Cup appearances.<br />They are the first nation to do so since Argentina and the Netherlands in 2010 and 2014.<br />Belgium topped Group G table with nine points, while England finished second with six points. Panama and Tunisia have been eliminated from this year's FIFA World Cup respectively.<br />In the knockout stage, Belgium will now face Japan on July 2, while England will lock horns with Colombia on July 3.

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