England registers historic win against Belgium, a first in 30 years

England defeated world number one Belgium 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley on Sunday. The hosts came from behind to register an important and historic victory.

This marked only England's second-ever win against Belgium in competitive football. The last time they managed to win against the currently top-ranked team was back in 1990. So far, the English brigade has faced Belgium six times in international football. Apart from the two wins, England lost twice and drew twice.

It's not surprising that England manager Gareth Southgate is delighted by his boys' performance. After all, they fought hard and secured the victory even after falling back by an early goal.

According to the BBC, at the end of the match, Southgate said, "It was a top-level game. We had a lot of young players there for whom that was a really great experience. You have to suffer to win these big games and the players did that."

Belgium took an early lead in the 16th minute, thanks to Romelu Lukaku's deceiving penalty. The 27-year old Belgian sent English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford the wrong way after being fouled by Eric Dier.

For most of the first half, the hosts were defensive, as the Belgians continued to produce attacking football. In the 39th minute, England got a lifeline as captain Jordan Henderson was brought down very easily by Thomas Meunier. Marcus Rashford took the resulting penalty and scored from the spot.

Southgate's men were much more organised during the second half, as they enjoyed more possession than the visitors after the break. Still, it was Belgium who was looking more dangerous in the middle. England needed a miracle to turn things in their favour, and that's just what happened later on.

In the 64th minute, Mason Mount's effort deflected off Toby Alderweireld and looped into the post over keeper Simon Mignolet to finalise Belgium's first defeat since November 2018. This marked only the fourth loss for Belgium in 47 games under Roberto Martinez' coaching.

Meanwhile, England registered their 20th victory in their last 21 home games. During this time, they scored 67 goals and conceded 10. Also, on Sunday, Rashford became the fourth Manchester United footballer to score in four consecutive competitive appearances for England. Before Rashford, Bobby Charlton, David Beckham, and Wayne Rooney had achieved such a feat.