England vs Belgium

England and Belgium are set to lock horns in a mouth-watering friendly at Wembley Stadium.

Gareth Southgate’s experimental line-up featuring three senior debutants, Anthony Gordon, Kobbie Mainoo, and Ezri Konsa, suffered a late heartache as Endrick’s 80th-minute strike inspired Brazil to a 1-0 win in London. That loss condemned the Three Lions to their first defeat at Wembley in regulation time across their last 22 matches (W15, D6), intensifying pressure on Southgate. Keen to prove his managerial credentials without standout stars, such as Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane, the ex-Middlesbrough boss will turn to Brentford talisman Ivan Toney as he bids to uphold England’s unbeaten H2H record on home turf (W6, D1). Worryingly, Southgate has lost three of his four meetings with Belgium without scoring since taking charge of England in 2016 (W1), with all those defeats producing under 2.5 goals.

On the other hand, Belgium got away with a dismal 0-0 draw against the Republic of Ireland last week, as the Boys in Green wasted a penalty in the first half of a tepid contest in Dublin. Despite that sub-par performance, De Rode Duivels’ unbeaten record under new manager Domenico Tedesco now reads 12 matches (W8, D4), extending their unbeaten run on the road to six (W5, D1). However, it was their first scoreless road trip since September 2022, emphasizing the importance of Romelu Lukaku’s return to the fold. The Chelsea loanee scored on Belgium’s last visit to Wembley in 2020. But it was merely a consolation goal, as they finished on the receiving end of a 2-1 scoreline, stretching their winless run at this venue to four games (D1, L3).