
So after all the speculation, Gareth Southgate did what few thought he would, and nobly took it easy against Belgium, resting eight players in order to keep his squad fresh for the knockout stage - but also with one eye that a defeat wouldn’t be so bad for England’s possible route to the final.
Of course, his counterpart Roberto Martinez did exactly the same, resting nine players, with the Belgians reportedly keen to keep hold of second place in order that they could stay near to their team base for the second round game.
So in the game that no one really seemed bothered about winning, it was Belgium who finally gave in and decided to score a goal, with a curling beauty from Real Sociedad’s Adnan Januzaj the only thing that separated the teams.
You can watch it below, what a lovely hit.
Read more: All you need to know: this is now England’s route to the World Cup final
But did you notice anything after the goal went in?
Anything? Anything at all?
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Oh yes, there is it. A second lovely hit from the player following in to celebrate, Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi. Probably, if we’re being honest, the best moment of the entire match, and quite possibly the tournament as a whole.
An even better angle:
POW. Right in the kisser.
With the world’s cameras looking on, Michy knew there was no way he’d get away with this glorious self-inflicted wound and duly took to Twitter after the game to laugh at himself.
There were the predictably lol-worthy responses:
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Before Batshuayi continued to go in on himself:
Fortunately, anyone wondering whether this unfortunate incident had caused Michy to fall out with his nemesis, the goalposts, were put right by teammate and Tianjin Quanjian midfielder Axel Witsel:
Absolutely glorious.
(Image: Getty)