Defeat to Belgium sets up England's biggest game for decade: Southgate

KALININGRAD: England coach Gareth Southgate took defeat to Belgium on the chin on Thursday as he looked ahead to the country´s "biggest game for a decade" in the World Cup last 16.

England and Belgium went into their final Group G match having already sewn up qualification to the knockout rounds.

Belgium´s 1-0 win means they top the group and will face Japan on Monday, with runners-up England securing a last-16 date with Colombia 24 hours later.

"We want to win football matches so not happy to have been beaten, but what it means for the next rounds we don´t know.

"I felt this was a game we wanted to win but the knockout game is our biggest for a decade," Southgate told British broadcaster ITV.

"Tonight was a good test for us, but we had half an eye on the knockout stages."

Southgate rested a cluster of players who had been involved in wins against Tunisia and Panama in England´s opening two games in Russia, including star striker Harry Kane.

Reflecting on the defeat Southgate added: "It was a pretty even game. I thought they had better control and possession than us in the first half. We had a couple of good chances in the second half."

"The players tonight never stopped, we´ve got to just keep improving."