Jack Grealish asked the referee not to send Serge Aurier off during England's 3-0 victory against Ivory Coast on Tuesday evening.
The former Tottenham defender was sent off in the 40th minute after picking up two yellow cards. The first was for a soft challenge on Grealish, while the second was for dissent. England were 1-0 up at the time and breezed to a comfortable win after the dismissal.
England were hoping to be tested against their guests at Wembley, as it was their final friendly ahead of this year's World Cup in Qatar. It was also their first game against a non-European opposition since their friendly against the US in November 2018.
"I wanted him to stay on, because it’s like a friendly," Grealish told Sky Sports at full-time. "You get a bit more from playing against 11 men. It would have been more of a challenge for us. I said to the ref [Belgium's Erik Lambrechts], 'Come on like, let him stay on.'
"But when the ref had give him his second yellow, he wasn’t going to go back on it. That was just my thinking on it. I just wanted him to stay on really, just so it would be a tougher test for us."
England eased past their opponents with goals from Ollie Watkins, stand-in captain Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings. The Three Lions haven't lost inside 90 minutes since their Nations League defeat to Belgium in November 2020, a run stretching 22 games.
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Speaking after the match, Gareth Southgate agreed with Grealish. "I thought the mentality at the start was really good," said the England manager. "Of course the red card changes the game which was a shame in terms of the test we wanted.
"I thought Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling were very bright on the wings... Jude Bellingham had a really good game. I was very pleased to see him. Tyrick Mitchell has dipped his toes into international football and done really well."
Sterling added: "A good night, it is always an honour to get given the opportunity to wear the captain's armband, I wore it with great pride and it was a great team performance in the end."
On being captain, Sterling said: "It is a great privilege and never in my wildest imagination as a young player coming thorugh did I think I would captain England one day, it comes with maturity the manager sees in you, the passion and love I have for the country.
"I always have this thing where I remember me coming through as a young player and it is nice when senior players put their arm around you, it is a new environment and all we can do is make sure the new ones feel as comfortable as possible.
"We continue to try to build, one game at a time, wait for the summer and put some good performances in."
