Romelu Lukaku leads a once-in-a-lifetime generation of Belgian talent in Group G.
Group G Predicted Order of Finish: Belgium, England, Panama, Tunisia
Belgium’s once-a-lifetime generation of talent mostly ply their trade in the English Premier League, which should make them both accessible and lovable in the eyes of many fans in America. Roberto Martinez is an innovative manager whose commitment to possession-based system football is probably better suited for international soccer than club soccer, and may explain why, after bright starts at both Wigan Athletic and Everton, his star burned out quickly and the clubs both regressed.
Martinez’s reliance on a three man defense places an immense amount of pressure on Vincent Kompany of Manchester City, but most the time, the star CB is ready for the heavy lift. He’s joined in the back by two Tottenham defenders, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. Both are positionally-savvy technical defenders but can be exposed for pace. The goalkeeper, Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, cleans up plenty of mistakes too.
The true wow factor of the side, of course, comes from the attacking pieces. Kevin De Bruyne plays deeper for Belgium than he does at Manchester City, mostly because his midfield partner, Axel Witsel, who moved to China’s burgeoning league, lacks range and speed. Those two look to play precise passes to charging wingbacks, PSG’s Thomas Mueunier and the youngster Yaniek Carrasco, who in turn try to create space and feed a lethal front three led by Chelsea’s star Eden Hazard and the dynamic scorer Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United.
On paper, the talent makes Belgium clear favorites in the group stages. The questions are mostly about whether they have enough defensively to make noise in the knockout phase.
I really like this England team, which probably means they’re doomed.
Our friends are Total Soccer Show seem to share a bit of that optimism here.
Gareth Southgate’s tactical switch from 4-2-3-1 to 3-5-2 has given the Three Lions more versatility in attack and a bit of possession that they need against more talented opponents, and paid dividends as England breezed through qualifying. The insertion of Tottenham Hotspur’s Kieran Trippier, next to right center back Kyle Walker, in particular has been revelatory, as he gives England pace and attacking intent from
Roman Torres leads Panama in its first World Cup appearance.
the right side of the defense.
There’s no playmaking number ten, but with Jordan Henderson and the technically outstanding Dele Ali, there’s good ball-movers in the midfield and England should be able to keep the ball and dictate tempo, at least in the group stages. Should they fall behind, playmakers like Ruben Loftus-Cheek of Chelsea give the side quality speed and creativity on the bench.
The forwards are brilliant and in their primes. Harry Kane leads the line, and is difficult to deal with on the shoulder of any defender, and Raheem Sterling is a perfect complement to Kane, dropping deep to receive the ball and buzzing around the channels and making lovely secondary runs off it.
Don’t be astonished if England win the group.
Panama are at their first World Cup, perhaps four years too late. A younger version of this difficult-to-play-against side should have qualified under the wonderful Dely Valdes brothers in 2014, only to be eliminated in the final moments by a late US goal which saved Mexico from failure to qualify.
Now, under Hernán Darío Gómez, the side are older, but still compact defensively and quite good on set pieces, where they found almost 40 percent of their goals in qualifying. They lack a single player on a roster in a top European league, but have unquestionably benefitted from the growth of MLS in the United States, where their best players are regulars.
Los Canaleros defense is particularly stout, led by Seattle Sounders CB Roman Torres and in front of the back four, Anibal Godoy, a steely, hard-nosed number six. At 36, Jaime Penedo isn’t the keeper he was when he won a MLS Cup with LA Galaxy in 2014, but he’s still good enough to start at his club, Dinamo Bucharest, in Romania, and the World Cup often brings the best out of aging keepers (see Howard, Tim, 2014).
Tunisia have one of the tournament’s best nicknames- the Carthage Eagles- but enter the tournament on one of the worst runs of form- 14 matches winless. They haven’t won a World Cup match since 1978, and may not do so at this tournament, unless they can upend Panama in the group stage finale.
Compounding matters, Tunisia’s best player, Youssef Msakni, a fine goal-scorer who plays professionally in Qatar’s rich but newish league, is injured and will miss the competition. In his stead, they most rely on a trio of players based in France, Naim Sliti, Bassem Srarfi and Wahbi Kahzri of Rennes, for stability and whatever attack they can muster.
I think they’ll finish last in a group with two of the least-talented sides in the field.
Neil W. Blackmon co-founded TYAC. Follow him on Twitter @nwblackmon.