Belgium could be dark horses in Russia

England’s group rivals may have stumbled on perfect formula, writes Jeremy Wilson in Brussels

Roberto Martinez, the manager, favours a three-man defence that would ideally allow Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany and Toby Alderweireld to start together. There are serious doubts, though, over the fitness of Kompany and his availability is unlikely to be confirmed until the last minute.

The most obvious replacement is Thomas Vermaelen but few Arsenal fans will be surprised to hear that he has also been struggling with injury. Martinez later said that he would give both defenders until the day before their first match against Panama before making a final decision on their availability.

It all meant a start in last night’s 3-0 win against Egypt for Laurent Ciman, who plays for Los Angeles FC and is only on the standby list. Egypt’s lack of threat without Mohamed Salah made it difficult to assess just how weakened Belgium would be without Kompany.

Further forward, Martinez clearly wants to play a passing and possession-based style of football knowing that Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku provide a formidable cutting edge. A simple read through the squad list is enough to understand their strengths. Belgium have a worldclass goalkeeper, a potentially world-class striker, several worldclass defenders and, in De Bruyne and Hazard, two of the most incisive attacking players in the world.

Add in some other very experienced players and there is certainly the raw ingredients for a team that could realistically challenge to win the World Cup.

Belgium do also have a near-perfect blend of youth and experience. More than half of their squad has won over 50 caps and yet the oldest player is only 32. These are players who have been together for a long time and should collectively be close to their absolute prime.