England player ratings as Golden Boot favourite Harry Kane gets a 3 in 2-0 defeat to Belgium

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  • Belgium clinched third place at the World Cup as they beat England 2-0 in the third-place play-off in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.

    The Red Devils made an early breakthrough as Thomas Meunier opened the scoring in the fourth minute.

    Eden Hazard doubled the lead in the 82nd minute to secure Belgium’s best-ever finish at a World Cup.

    Here, we rate the England players.

    STARTING XI

    Jordan Pickford – Was helpless for the first goal but denied Meunier a second with a superb save in the second. His distribution let him down. 5

    Phil Jones – Always seemed uncomfortable against Hazard and was made to look ordinary when the Chelsea star glided past him and scored the second. 4

    John Stones – The pick of England’s defenders. Excellent on the ball and made some vital blocks. 6

    Harry Maguire – Dominant in the air but had few options to work with every time he brought the ball out from defence. 5

    Eric Dier – Had a couple of England’s best efforts with Toby Alderweireld clearing his chipped finish off the line before he put a decent header wide. 6

    Kieran Trippier – His delivery was exquisite again and should’ve produced one goal at least. Six key passes in this encounter. 6

    Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Flashes of brilliance from the young midfielder but nothing concrete. A couple of good runs and a looping header straight at Thibaut Courtois. 5

    Fabian Delph – Worked hard and slotted in well both in midfield during the first half and at left-wingback in the second. 5

    Danny Rose – Caught napping as he failed to track Meunier’s run to the back post for the opener. He let the right-wingback in on another occasion as well and was hooked at half-time. 3

    Harry Kane – Looked well off the pace again and a shadow of the fearsome striker he can be. Was caught on his heels as a few decent deliveries passed him by. Incredibly, he’ll probably win the Golden Boot. 3

    Raheem Sterling – Tried to make inroads by running at the defence but often wound up losing possession. Teed up Kane on one occasion but the striker shot wide. 5

    SUBS

    Marcus Rashford – Didn’t have the desired impact as his decision-making was disappointing. 4

    Jesse Lingard – Injected a little zip into England’s passing initially before slumping into the ponderous tempo along with the others. 5

    Dele Alli – Came on in the closing stages and didn’t see much of the ball. N/A

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