England v Belgium

What better way to spend a Tuesday night in March 2024 than by experiencing fantastic hospitality at one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues – England’s National Stadium.

Wembley Stadium hospitality is up there with the best in world sport, and you can enjoy it for yourself as England, currently ranked 4th in the FIFA standings, take on Belgium, the team sitting in 5th place.

On Tuesday March 26th 2024, Gareth Southgate’s side round off their home preparation for the European Championships with a game under the Wembley floodlights against Domenico Tadesco’s Belgium. Tadesco took over from Roberto Martinez after their disappointing World Cup performance in Qatar, on a short term contract up to the end of Euro 2024. In the pantheon of international managers, the Italian-born German coach is a relative unknown. He didn’t play football professionally, but in his short coaching career has enjoyed some success with Schalke – guiding them to second place in the Bundesliga, followed by spells at Spartak Moscow and RB Leipzig. His appointment was a bold step by the Belgian Football Association, with expectations high for the Euros.

Belgium and England have faced each other 25 times before, with England successful on 16 occasions. But recent bragging rights belong firmly to Belgium, who have won 3 of the last 4 meetings – including two strange games at the 2018 World Cup… The two sides were put into Group G of the tournament, and had both qualified for the knockout stages when they met in Kaliningrad. Neither team fielded a full strength side, and Belgium won the game 1-0. In an
unusual scenario they then met later in the competition – having both lost their semi-finals they
met in the 3rd Place match. On this occasion, Belgium beat England 2-0.

There was a time when Belgian players were something of a rarity in the Premier League – the first being Newcastle defender Philippe Albert, scorer of a famous goal against Manchester United back in 1996. But over recent years we have seen the very best Belgians competing in our top league – the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, Romelu Lukaku, Toby Alderweireld, Eden Hazard, Youri Tielemans and Leandro Trossard. Manchester City skipper De Bruyne has missed the majority of the 2023/24 season due to injury, but now he has returned to fitness he will hope to be involved in not only this match at Wembley but also in the Euros.

The standout meeting between the two countries came in 1990. It was the first time in a decade that they had played each other, and there was much at stake. England had stuttered through the early stages of Italia ’90, and Belgium had finished runners-up to Spain in their group. With so much at stake for both countries, it was never destined to be a classic, and so it turned out… in the 71st minute of the match Steve McMahon was replaced by David Platt, which turned out to be one of Bobby Robson’s finest managerial decisions. The game went to extra time, and with the
clock ticking down towards a penalty shoot out England were awarded a free kick in the centre of the pitch. The mercurial Paul Gascoigne had won the free kick, and hauled himself up after nearly two hours of football to deliver a long, flighted chip over the top. That man David Platt watched the ball fly over his shoulder, and hooked it into the far corner, keeping England in the World Cup. Robson did a little jig, Terry Butcher and Chris Waddle performed some kind of dance routine on the pitch, and the England fans went wild. We all remember what happened in the subsequent
rounds, but that night in Bologna is one of the highlights of Platt’s career.

Both managers will want their sides to be tested before going into a major competition, and this is an intriguing contest between two of the strongest sides in world football. Matches under the lights at Wembley Stadium are always special, even more so in the comfort of our fantastic Wembley hospitality packages. Don’t miss out on the chance to experience this unique atmosphere for yourself. Check out the options here or give us a call on 01454 201210.

CONTACT THE TEAM

Give Us a call on 01454 201210 or email enquiries@circuithospitality.com to see how we can help you.