Kevin de Bruyne 7; Jack Grealish 7, Harry Kane 6, Eric Dier 4: Belgium v England player ratings

Belgium ease to comfortable 2-0 win and end England's Nations League hopes

BELGIUM RATINGS: Thibaut Courtois, 6 – His 80th appearance for Belgium and a pretty quiet one, though he was beaten when Harry Kane’s header went past him, only to be cleared by Lukaku. AFP

Toby Alderweireld, 6 – Superb defending to deny Grealish at the front post following a Trippier cross, though was guilty of dropping deep in the second half and inviting England pressure.
 EPA

Jason Denayer, 6 - Played as the anchor behind Vertonghen and impressed. Marshalled Kane well in the first half, but was under a lot of pressure in the second.
 AP

Jan Vertonghen, 7 –Enjoyed a good tussle against both Grealish and Mount and even showed off with a roulette before half-time.
 AP

Thomas Meunier, 6 - Was always an attacking outlet on the right when Belgium looked to counter on the break in the second half, though sometimes looked like a rabbit in the headlights going forward.
 PA

Youri Tielemans, 7 – Opened the scoring with a well-struck but deflected effort from the edge of the area. Looked effortless in the middle and always dangerous going forward.
 AP

Axel Witsel, 6 – Looked tired at times but still managed to combine well with Tielemans in the middle, playing the deeper of the two. A strong and physical presence.
 EPA

Thorgan Hazard, 6 – Looked to be one of Belgium’s weaker links, though in his defence was asked to play as a wing-back. Always looked lively with the ball at his feet but never looked comfortable defending. 
PA

Kevin De Bruyne, 7 – Earned the free-kick that saw Belgium double their lead., though he appeared to kick Declan Rice rather than the other way round. One of his quieter games, but always a threat.
 AFP

Dries Mertens, 6 – He scored with a fantastic free-kick from 25 yards to double Belgium’s lead and was a threat in the first hour. England did well to keep him quiet in the second half.
 PA

Romelu Lukaku, 7 – Was heavily involved at both ends in the first half in a crucial two-minute period. First, he held the ball up to play in Tielemans for the first goal before clearing off his line from Kane’s header. Lead the line well.
 PA

SUB: Dennis Praet, N/A – Replaced Mertens and impressed with his passing ability, with one delivery with the outside of his boot particularly impressive.
 AFP

ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford, 6 – Got close to Tielemans’ opener despite the shot taking a deflection off Tyrone Mings in front of him. Then took a step to his left before diving to his right, which might have prevented him from getting to the second.
 AFP

Kyle Walker, 5 – Played at the right of the back three and was forced to tuck in more than he would like. That said, he still managed to get forward on occasion.
 PA

Eric Dier, 4 – Was guilty of playing a dangerous pass from the back that was seized by Belgium and lead to the opening goal. Was guilty of giving the ball away too often.
 Reuters

Tyrone Mings, 5 – A solid performance from England’s left-sided centre-back. Comfortable on the ball and did a good job keeping Lukaku quiet for the most part.
 Reuters

Kieran Trippier, 5 – A solid but not spectacular performance from Trippier, who got better as the game went on. Always a threat from set pieces, but perhaps not dynamic enough in that wing-back position.
Reuters

Declan Rice, 5 –Was overrun for much of the first half but managed to get his foot on the ball a bit more in the second. 

AFP

Jordan Henderson, 5 – Didn’t do a lot wrong but as a partnership, the Henderson-Rice axis didn’t really work.
 Getty

Ben Chilwell, 5 – Playing in a wingback position, the Chelsea defender was a source of crosses in the first half hour but he was forced off with an injury before the break.

 AFP

Mason Mount, 6 – Playing in a front three didn’t really suit Mount, though he came close with a header having evaded Meunier just before the break, and then contributed a clever flick to set up Kane in the second half.
 AP

Jack Grealish, 7 – Continued his promising form for England and imposed himself on the game, running at defenders and breaking between the lines. Came close following some excellent movement at the front post but was denied by Alderweireld, and then again with a shot that went just over.
 EPA

Harry Kane, 6 – Came close with a superb header under pressure that was saved on the line by Lukaku, but was often marshalled by several defenders.
 EPA

SUBS: Bukayo Saka, 7 – Looked impressive when he came on. Slick passing and liked to get forward, he linked well with Grealish.
 EPA

Harry Winks, 6 – England needed a bit more attacking intent in the second half and Winks played too safe at times, though he did look good on the ball.
 PA

Jadon Sancho, 5 – Was brought on to replace Trippier in the wing-back position and he looked a bit lost. Needed to play further forward. AFP

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 5 – Came on to play on the right of England’s attack and didn’t see much of the ball.
 PA

Goals from Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens earned Belgium a comfortable 2-0 victory and England's hopes of qualifying for the Nations League finals.

England needed a win but Gareth Southgate's side found themselves chasing the game after Tielemans put the hosts in front after 10 minutes.

Harry Kane had an effort cleared off the line soon after but it got even worse for England when Mertens curled home a delightful free kick after 23 minutes.

Belgium held on with few real alarms against an unimaginative England side and must now avoid defeat on Wednesday against Denmark, who beat Iceland 2-1, to finish top of the group.

A second successive defeat for England, after a home loss to Denmark, left them in third place in the group with one match to come at home to Iceland next week.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.