BELGIUM, ENGLAND STRONG FAVOURITES IN GROUP G
Tunisia, without star man Msakni, and debutants Panama hope to make their own history in Russia
Belgium and England are strong favourites to progress from World Cup Group G as Tunisia and tournament debutants Panama hope to spring a huge surprise. Touted as the “golden generation”, Belgium’s collection of stars, including Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku have so far failed to deliver on their potential.
Reaching the quarter-finals four years ago was seen as an acceptable stepping stone.
But a last-eight exit to Wales at Euro 2016 saw coach Marc Wilmots sacked with former Everton boss Roberto Martinez the surprise choice to take over.
Martinez’s men cruised through qualifying, but doubts remain over the Spaniard’s ability to get the best out of a supremely talented squad and his decision to leave out Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan was a deeply unpopular one with fans.
The Red Devils’ best ever showing in a World Cup was reaching the semifinals in 1986.
England have more humble expectations after failing to make the l ast eight i n their l ast two major tournaments.
How far Gareth Southgate’s men go will depend a lot on captain Harry Kane finally taking his club form for Tottenham Hotspur onto the tournament stage.
A youthful squad is filled with attacking talent, but there are questions over Southgate’s lack of options in midfield.
Tunisia’s hopes of winning a first game at the World Cup since 1978 have suffered a huge blow with star player Youssef Msakni ruled out due to a knee ligament injury.
Panama are the tournament’s rank outsiders at 1000/1 having produced miracles just to make it to Russia by eliminating the United States in qualifying.
A 6-0 friendly thrashing at the hands of Switzerland in March showed the step up from Concacaf to facing some of the world’s best may be a jump too far though.
Belgium midfielder De Bruyne is already counted among the world’s top players after his exploits during Manchester City’s spectacular march to the Premier League title but the World Cup in Russia will present the midfielder with a chance to become part of Belgian folklore.
The 26-year-old has been the driving force in Pep Guardiola’s record-breaking City side who earned more points and wins in the Premier League than any previous champions.
De Bruyne’s work rate and ability to produce a procession of pinpoint passes helped to lift City to a new level, leaving all other title aspirants lagging way behind.
His unrivalled range of short and long passing can tear apart sides and he has registered more assists than any other player in Europe’s top-five leagues since 2012.
Belgium captain and Chelsea playmaker Hazard believes his teammate could create “magic” with the ball at his feet.
“He’s fantastic,” Hazard told Sky Sports recently. “He’s clever on and off the pitch.”
As for England, striker and captain Kane thinks a triumph in Russia is possible.
“I believe we can win it. Anyone can. I can’t say we’re not going to win it, because we could. I want to win everything I do. It’s my mind-set. So do the players,” he said.
At 24, Kane will be England’s youngest World Cup captain. After having his role formally confirmed by Southgate, he conceded he had thought about the prospect of raising the trophy in Moscow on July 15.
If Kane wants to break his tournament goalscoring duck at the World Cup, the chances are he will need to find a way past the physically imposing figure of Roman Torres.
The Panama defender is one of the key members in the Central Americans’ squad, a rugged centre-half who etched his name into his nation’s football history by scoring the goal that qualified the team for Russia.
Tunisia will be hoping that Sunderland winger Wahbi Khazri can provide some punch in attack at the World Cup, after reviving his career this season on loan at Rennes.
The 27-year-old scored 11 goals this term back in France, after an illfated move from Bordeaux to England in January 2016.
While his parent club were suffering a second straight relegation to drop into the English third tier, Khazri was helping Rennes finish fifth in Ligue 1 to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2011/12.