Belgium vs England Free World Cup Picks and Third Place Odds

by Tony Sink - 7/12/2018

World Cup third place

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Saint Petersburg Stadium

Belgium will play at Saint Petersburg Stadium when they take on England on Saturday, July 14, 2018 in a third place World Cup matchup. The opening line for this game has Belgium at +128 and England at +225. The total has been set at 3.

This should be a very entertaining third place playoff match. Past third place games have resulted in very high-scoring affairs since players are a bit looser after having been knocked out of the running for the gold medal. Belgium certainly has the offensive firepower to put in quite a few goals if they're aggressive, but don't count England out of this one.

Belgium

Belgium was frustrated by France's defensive approach during the semifinal, so chances are they are going to work on some ways to break down any type of defense in preparation for this one. England has played much better defense during the World Cup than most people anticipated, but Belgium has more offensive firepower than all of England's other opponents and they could score three or more if their attackers put in a good effort during the match.

Kevin De Bruyne

If this match does end up being a very open one, you can be pretty sure that the Manchester City midfielder will play a big part in it. He has played well throughout the World Cup, but he seems to go missing for long stretches when Belgium is forced to defense. That shouldn't be an issue in this game against England since both teams will try to show off their offensive talents.

Nacer Chadli

It's not surprising that Chadli's name hasn't come up much during this tournament considering all of the talent around him, but he plays a key part in Belgium's build up play. Expect to see him get down the right side early and often and look to find Romelu Lukaku and the other Belgium forwards in the box.

England

England will be feeling a bit worse than Belgium coming into this matchup after giving up that last-ditch goal in extra time to Croatia. It'll be interesting to see if head coach Gareth Southgate gives some different players some playing time in this one and if he changes his tactics a bit now that they are out of the running for the gold. They may not be quite as aggressive as Belgium is, but they will want to show that they have the talent to score multiple goals after struggling to find the back of the net in their last couple of matches.

Kieran Trippier

The right wing back should end up on the World Cup XI after putting on great performances throughout the tournament. England seems to take pride in being a top free kick team, and Trippier is taking just about all of those free kicks. If England ends up winning this game, chances are the 27-year-old had something to do with it.

Raheem Sterling

Sterling will be frustrated that he has not been able to score during this World Cup run, but the fact is that he has had a positive impact in just about every game for England over the last month or so. He will use his pace to force defenses out of position, and there really isn't anyone on Belgium who can keep up with him.

Key Belgium Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key England Injuries

No key injuries to report

Who will win tonight's Belgium/England World Cup game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Belgium +128

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Belgium vs England World Cup Picks and Predictions 7/14/2018

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