Belgium and England have already met during the World Cup in a match both teams seemed reluctant to win and on Saturday they will face each other again in a game they both seem reluctant to play.
The two sides must pick themselves up and dust themselves down after suffering the crushing disappointment of semi-final defeats to play for the modest prize of third place in a fixture often criticized as pointless.
“It’s not a game any team wants to play,” said England manager Gareth Southgate after his team lost 2-1 to Croatia after extra time in Wednesday’s second semi-final.
“Of course, we want to win, we’ll be ready to go again because the team take great pride in their performances. It’s a bit too early after that defeat to think about it.”
His Belgian counterpart Roberto Martinez was similarly unenthused about the game after his side were beaten 1-0 by France on Tuesday.
“It’s a difficult emotion to manage. You’re disappointed because you lose the semi-final, and it’s very difficult to see the opportunity of playing another game as a positive,” he said.
Even so, he said he would try to lift his team.
Another Reuters report says, England manager Gareth Southgate made five changes to his team for Saturday’s World Cup third-place play-off against Belgium but the tournament’s top scorer Harry Kane starts.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Eric Dier, Phil Jones, Danny Rose and Fabian Delph all come into the starting line-up after beginning on the bench in the semi-final defeat to Croatia.
Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson are all dropped to the bench by Southgate.
Kane, who with six goals is favorite for the Golden Boot, will start alongside Raheem Sterling.
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez made two changes with Thomas Meunier returning from suspension and Youri Tielemans given a start. Midfielders Mousa Dembele and Marouane Fellaini make way.