Belgium vs. Panama (Monday 4pm, live on BBC One)
The Red Devils once again go into a major tournament as one of the dark horses to lift the trophy and head coach Roberto Martinez believes that if they play as a team they could well contend in Russia.
With stars such as Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois in the squad there’s pressure on Belgium’s “golden generation” to succeed.
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Belgium go into the World Cup unbeaten in 16 matches and Martinez told ESPN: “This is a group that has been playing a long time together. You could go back to 2008 and the Olympic Games in Beijing, and going through two big tournaments, becoming the No. 1 [ranked] team in the world, now becoming the first European team to qualify for the World Cup. These little nice stories allow them to keep progressing.
“Since the first friendly against Spain [which Belgium lost, in September 2016], I think we’ve been unbeaten in 16. If we could become a team, with all the individuals that we have, it’s going to be really enjoyable to watch what we can achieve.”
Belgium’s first group G match is against Panama at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi on Monday (4pm, live on BBC One). Group G’s other match will see England take on Tunisia at the Volgograd Arena (7pm, live on BBC One).
Starting XIs and formations
How the two teams will line up for the group G clash in Sochi, according to Fifa.com.
- Belgium (3-4-2-1): Thibaut Courtois; Jan Vertonghen, Dedryck Boyata, Toby Alderweireld; Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco, Thomas Meunier; Dries Mertens, Eden Hazard; Romelu Lukaku
- Panama (4-5-1): Jaime Penedo; Roman Torres, Fidel Escobar, Eric Davis, Michael Murillo; Gabriel Gomez, Anibal Godoy, Armando Cooper, Edgar Barcenas, Jose Luis Rodriguez; Blas Perez
Group G fixtures and live TV channels (all times UK)
- 18 June: Belgium vs. Panama (4pm, BBC); Tunisia vs. England (7pm, BBC)
- 23 June: Belgium vs. Tunisia (1pm, BBC)
- 24 June: England vs. Panama (1pm, BBC)
- 28 June: England vs. Belgium (7pm, ITV); Panama vs. Tunisia (7pm, ITV4)
