England and Belgium were inseparable in Group G ahead of their World Cup fixture against one another, so much so that for a time all that separated them were yellow cards.
So while they were tied at 0-0 in the first half, top spot in the group depended upon whichever team had the better fair play record.
However, with the group runner-up set to have an easier route through the competition, there was a suggestion that finishing second would be better than finishing first.
With the scores level then in the first half, picking up bookings was the only way to avoid finishing first – and potentially facing Brazil in the quarter-finals – which led some to joke that players were looking to be booked.
It also created a unique situation whereby some fans sort of celebrated the yellow cards they accrued.
If the two teams were level on yellow cards at the end of the game then they would draw straws to decide first and second, but Belgium’s yellow-card count denied us all that novelty.
In the end England lost 1-0 thanks to an Adnan Januzaj goal, rendering the yellow-card count redundant.
However, with the Three Lions facing Colombia in the last-16, they won’t be able to forget about the colour yellow for long.
Colombia celebrate scoring a goal against Senegal at the World Cup (Gregorio Borgia/AP)
– Press Association
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
