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‘It’s been an exhilarating ride’: England takes stock after Belgium earn World Cup bronze
After a tournament which promised so much, England are heading home from the World Cup empty-handed as goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard were enough to secure a third-placed finish for the Red Devils.
Gareth Southgate’s side must be content with equaling the efforts of Sir Bobby Robson’s side who finished in fourth spot at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, making their efforts in Russia the joint second-best achievement of any English side at football’s most prestigious tournament.
In the end though, Belgium earned their second win over England in this tournament, bettering the 1-0 victory they recorded in the group stages. Roberto Martinez's side recorded their best ever World Cup result, going one better than the fourth place they finished in the 1986 event in Mexico.
The fourth-placed finish will leave some English fans with something of a sour taste after the waves of ‘It’s Coming Home’ euphoria which had gripped the country in the last week but, as many people have pointed out on social media, they can be more than proud of their achievements at Russia 2018.
Well played England. It’s been an exhilarating ride. The future is wonderfully bright. 👏👏
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 14, 2018
So England came 4th. Never expected to get that far so great and in the meantime we all had a right party following the team. And 3 stars were born, Maguire, Trippier and Pickford #BELENG
— Sanjeev Bhaskar (@TVSanjeev) July 14, 2018
4th out of 32.Well done @England 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽We asked for progress.We wanted youth.We wanted to love an England team again.We got all.To haters, keep hating, we're producing kids at rate me for one is very happy with.Expect to see the English at the pointy end a LOT.
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) July 14, 2018
👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://t.co/xYVzMs5vL4
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) July 14, 2018
Bronze medal 🥉 Good way to end this World Cup! Thanks all for the amazing support! 👊🏼🇧🇪 #RedTogether #BelEng #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/dsiF7b8j1c
— Alderweireld Toby (@AlderweireldTob) July 14, 2018
trippier and pickford england’s best players this tournament
— Kerry✨ (@KerryOsborne6) July 14, 2018
regardless of today’s match, this World Cup and our @England team has genuinely made me love football ⚽️ excited to watch this team grow 🏴✨
— Kirstie (@KirstieBrittain) July 14, 2018