England coach Gareth Southgate admits side beaten by better team as Belgium take World Cup third spot

Southgate and his players did far better than expected in Russia.

• Belgium prove too good for England in easy 2-0 win
• England coach calls for team to use run to last-four as springboard to silverware

Gareth Southgate admitted the better side won after Belgium beat England at a canter in Saint Petersburg.
Goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard (right), one in each half, were enough to see off the Three Lions who looked well off the pace after their extra-time defeat to Croatia in Wednesday’s semifinal.
Both teams were playing for the seventh time in 26 days, but Belgium entered the match with an extra day of rest.
Meunier scored in the fourth minute, knocking a cross from Nacer Chadli past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Hazard added the other off a pass from Kevin De Bruyne eight minutes from time.
After a run to the last-four which had been as unexpected as it was tense, the England manager said that his team had run out of steam.
“Belgium are a better side than us. We had to play flat out. We had a day less to repair and recover. It was a game too far for us,” Southgate said.
“Belgium are a top team and they will be thinking they should have gone further than they did. We caused them problems and pinned them back but they have players of the highest quality.
“Two years on, you look at the number of caps and age of the squad for Belgium. This is their peak but we are nowhere near that.
Toby Alderweireld denied England’s best chance of the game, sliding on the goal line to clear a shot from Eric Dier.
Despite the defeat England matched their best World Cup result — fourth in 1990 — since winning the tournament for the only time in 1966.
The run to the semifinals galvanized the country, and striker Harry Kane said the side must use their Russia campaign as a springboard.
“This game showed there is still room for improvement. We’re not the finished article, we’re still improving and will only get better. We don’t want to wait another 20 years to get into the semi-finals. We have made huge strides.”
For Belgium it was their best finish in a World Cup. Something that, once the dust has settled, will offer some consolation for not going all the way to today’s final.
“It’s all about the achievement, this is Belgium’s best finish at a World Cup. The players deserve that and they wanted to make the country proud,” Belgium boss Roberto Martinez said.
“We had 10 different goal scorers, the joint best in World Cup history. This team have broken records in the right way.”