Belgium and England both leave the World Cup happy to have reached the semifinals. Belgium may be a little happier, though.

The Belgians earned their highest World Cup finish by beating England 2-0 in the third-place match on Saturday. Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard scored a goal each.

B次元官网网址淭hese players didnB次元官网网址檛 want to rely on talent anymore, wanted to work as a team,B次元官网网址� Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said. B次元官网网址淭heir standards have been magnificent. They wanted to make the country proud, every single Red Devils fan proud.B次元官网网址�

France and Croatia will play in the final on Sunday at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The French beat Belgium on Tuesday in the semifinals, while the Croats defeated England on Wednesday.

MeunierB次元官网网址檚 early goal matched a World Cup record for Belgium by having 10 different players score in a tournament, something only done before by France in 1982 and Italy in 2006.

Both Belgium and England were playing for the seventh time in 26 days, but the Belgians entered the match with an extra day of rest.

Meunier scored in the fourth minute, knocking a cross from Nacer Chadli past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Hazard added the other off a pass from Kevin De Bruyne in the 82nd.

Toby Alderweireld denied EnglandB次元官网网址檚 best chance of the game, sliding on the goal line to clear a shot from Eric Dier.

England matched its best World Cup result B次元官网网址� fourth in 1990 B次元官网网址� since winning the tournament for the only time in 1966.

B次元官网网址淭oday shows thereB次元官网网址檚 room for improvement. WeB次元官网网址檙e not the finished article. WeB次元官网网址檙e still learning. WeB次元官网网址檙e still getting better,B次元官网网址� England striker Harry Kane said. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want to wait another 20-odd years to get into another major semifinal.B次元官网网址�

BelgiumB次元官网网址檚 previous best finish at the World Cup was fourth, but the team outplayed England in the midfield to go one better this time.

The Belgians could easily have scored more, with Pickford making a good save to stop a shot from De Bruyne in the 11th and Alderweireld volleying narrowly over the bar in the 35th.

England made set pieces the cornerstone of its run to the World Cup semifinals and created chances for Harry Maguire and Dier in the second half. Neither hit the target with their headers.

It was the second time England and Belgium met in this yearB次元官网网址檚 tournament. In the group stage, both teams had already qualified before BelgiumB次元官网网址檚 1-0 win in Kaliningrad.

FRESH LEGS

England coach Gareth Southgate made five changes to face Belgium, but Danny Rose and Fabian Delph made little impact while Dier started slowly but threatened in the second half.

Phil Jones failed to intercept the pass which led to HazardB次元官网网址檚 goal.

The two replacements in BelgiumB次元官网网址檚 lineup were more effective. Meunier scored and Youri Tielemans dominated the midfield.

GOLDEN BOOT

Kane is still placed to win the Golden Boot with a tournament-leading six goals ahead of SundayB次元官网网址檚 final.

Kane last scored in EnglandB次元官网网址檚 win over Colombia in the round of 16. On Saturday, he slipped as he shot wide in the first half, then failed to make contact with Jesse LingardB次元官网网址檚 cross early in the second.

Romelu Lukaku couldnB次元官网网址檛 add to his four goals for Belgium and was substituted shortly after misjudging a through ball by De Bruyne.

James Ellingworth, The Associated Press

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