Colombia vs. England
Spartak Stadium, Moscow
After England clinched a spot in the knockout round with a pair of wins in its first two games in Russia, manager Gareth Southgate decided to rest eight players for the Three Lions’ final group stage game against Belgium.
“This was a game we wanted to win but the knockout is the biggest game for a decade for us and we had to make sure our key players were preserved,” Southgate said, via The Guardian, after England’s 1-0 loss. “You have to look at the bigger picture sometimes and make decisions which, in some quarters, might be criticized.