We look ahead to Tuesday’s international friendly at Wembley Stadium with our England vs Belgium prediction and preview.
England vs Belgium Stats: The Quick Hits
- England’s defeat to Brazil on Saturday ended a 20-game unbeaten run at Wembley Stadium.
- Belgium haven’t lost since the 2022 World Cup, going 12 matches undefeated (W8 D4).
- Romelu Lukaku is looking to add to his tally of 83 goals for Belgium, the third-highest total by a player for a European nation in men’s international football.
Match Preview
England go into the second game of their Wembley double-header looking to make up for a 1-0 defeat to Brazil on Saturday. Endrick’s late goal ended a 20-game unbeaten run at Wembley in all competitions for the Three Lions; they last lost consecutive matches at the national stadium in November 2013 (vs Chile and Germany).
Saturday’s loss also ended a 12-game winning run for England in friendly matches, meaning another defeat on Tuesday will see them lose consecutive friendlies for the first time since March/June 2017 (vs Germany and France).
Belgium head into this match on a 12-game unbeaten streak, last losing at the 2022 World Cup to Morocco (2-0). They’ve won eight of these 12 games but drew 0-0 at the weekend versus the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. That match saw just three shots on target, with Belgium restricted to few quality chances and posting just 0.45 expected goals (xG).
Romelu Lukaku will be hoping to add to his 83 goals for Belgium in this match. His current tally is just one behind Hungary legend Ferenc Puskás (84), with only him and Cristiano Ronaldo (128) having scored more goals at international level for a European nation.
Harry Maguire, Sam Johnstone and Kyle Walker are the latest England absentees confirmed following the defeat to Brazil. The Manchester City defender hobbled off in the first half of the game at Wembley, while Maguire was substituted after the break. Johnstone has withdrawn due to an elbow injury that could reportedly rule him out for the rest of the 2023-24 Premier League season.
England captain Harry Kane missed the Brazil match and won’t feature on Tuesday either having returned to Bayern Munich. Other England regulars out of the picture for this international window include Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luke Shaw.
Belgium will be without influential players themselves, with captain Kevin De Bruyne out and experienced goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also absent due to injury.
England vs Belgium Head-to-Head
England have lost three of their last four games against Belgium (W1) after losing only one of their first 21 meetings with them between 1921 and 2012 (W15 D5).
The last time they clashed, Belgium won 2-0 a UEFA Nations League fixture in November 2020, with Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens scoring. A month earlier in the same UNL campaign, a Marcus Rashford penalty and Mason Mount strike guided England to a win 2-1 over the Red Devils at Wembley. Those two goals are the only ones England have scored in their last four meetings with Belgium.
The last time England and Belgium met in a friendly was back in June 2012, when a first-half Danny Welbeck goal sealed a 1-0 win at Wembley for Roy Hodgson’s side ahead of Euro 2012.
England vs Belgium Prediction
England are predicted to bounce back from Saturday’s loss to Brazil with a victory in this friendly against fellow European heavyweights Belgium. The Three Lions won 52.8% of the pre-match Opta supercomputer simulations compared to Belgium’s one-in-five success rate.
England vs Belgium Squads
England: Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, James Trafford, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Ben Chilwell, Joe Gomez, Lewis Dunk, Ezri Konsa, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, Cole Palmer, Ivan Toney, Anthony Gordon.
Head Coach: Gareth Southgate
Belgium: Koen Casteels, Thomas Kaminski, Matz Sels, Arnaud Bodart, Zeno Debast, Arthur Theate, Wout Faes, Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Meunier, Olivier Deman, Timothy Castagne, Koni De Winter, Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, Charles De Ketelaere, Orel Mangala, Arthur Vermeeren, Aster Vranckx, Jérémy Doku, Loïs Openda, Romelu Lukaku, Leandro Trossard, Dodi Lukébakio, Johan Bakayoko, Michy Batshuayi.
Head Coach: Domenico Tedesco
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