Why England or Belgium Will Win the World Cup (and Why They Won't)

KALININGRAD, Russia — England and Belgium played a so-called dead rubber in this Russian exclave Thursday night.

A dead rubber is a soccer match that is of no real consequence to the teams involved, and this was the happy sort since both England and Belgium had already qualified for the knockout round of the World Cup. Both teams easily dispatched their first two opponents, the vastly overmatched Tunisia and Panama, without much stress, , or providing real insight into how good either might be. Then Belgium topped England, 1-0, in a game that was more gentlemen’s kickaround than World Cup match. So the mystery continued.