NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia (AP) — Sadly for the fans, Belgium and England are ready to rest and rotate.
Both have already qualified for the last 16 — only the group winner needs to be decided — so Thursday’s Group G finale in Kaliningrad provides a rare chance in an unrelenting World Cup schedule to rest tired legs, recover from injuries and avoid the risk of suspensions.
And so the big individual matchups that held so much intrigue a week ago may not materialize.
So, possibly no Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United up against former Everton teammate John Stones, now with Manchester City. No midfield contest pitching Eden Hazard of Chelsea and Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City on Belgium’s side against Jordan Henderson of Liverpool and Jesse Lingard of Manchester United on England’s.
If Kane and Lukaku don’t get on the field, two of the three top goal-scorers in Russia will be missing.
And that would be a shame for the fans.
“If we could have seven days to prepare (for) the game and then have another seven days until the next game, I would say let’s carry on with the same starting 11,” Martinez said.
Belgium has reasons other than fatigue to rotate its players.
Also, influential midfielder De Bruyne and defenders Vertonghen and Thomas Meunier have one yellow card at the World Cup. Another against England would see them suspended for the first of the knockout games.
The risks of playing them are significant.
The rewards? There are some, too.
“We don’t want to take our foot off the gas with the performances we are putting in right now,” England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek said after the 6-1 pummeling of Panama.
But Southgate said England also had to “decide what is our priority.”
Easy answer: the knockout games.
“It is his (Southgate’s) decision, I guess,” said Kane, who leads the running for the Golden Boot award with five goals in two games. “Obviously I want to play, I want to perform. Whatever decision he makes, it is his decision.”
There’s one more reason why the Belgians and English may not be desperate to roll out their big guns in Kaliningrad.
Both camps denied giving any time to the theory that a defeat might help them in the longer term.