Ranking 5th on Fifa’s Ranking the Belgium team may be the bitter surprise for the rest of the national teams. Worldwide pundits start giving some credit to the Belgium squad a few years ago, but so far they failed to prove their dominance on a top competition field.

Their best performance on the world cup competition was the 4th place and that was more than 30 years ago.

Qualification was smooth – Belgium finished top of Group H, winning nine games and drawing one – and Roberto Martinez’s men have a relatively straightforward group, featuring Panama, Tunisia and, of course, England…

 

First game: Belgium vs Panama (18/06).

 

Star: Kevin De Bruyne

There are some genuinely world-class players in Belgium’s pool of talent, and Kevin De Bruyne heads the list. The Manchester City man has developed into a truly brilliant central midfielder under Pep Guardiola’s management, and will be central to any hopes Belgium may have of winning the World Cup. He actually claimed to at least be considered in the golden ball award. Ambitious…hein ?

Elsewhere, Eden Hazard has endured a difficult season at club level, with Chelsea appearing likely to miss out on a top-four finish, but his dribbling ability is unmatched in England, and he can kill teams with one slaloming run. Speedy, skilful and a master at both creating and scoring goals, Hazard is one of the most exciting forwards in world football. The Chelsea star served up six goals and five assists during Belgium’s impressive
qualifying campaign.

 

Coach: Roberto Martinez
The former Everton and Swansea coach was a somewhat surprising candidate to replace Marc Wilmots in 2016, having coached solely at club level in England, but the Spaniard guided an unbeaten Belgium side to the finals. Russia 2018 will represent Martinez’s first appearance at a FIFA

 

Group: Belgium, Tunisia, England and Panama