Two contrasting styles and sides clash in Sochi on Monday as a Belgium team brimming with talent take on World Cup debutants Panama.
Belgium have frustrated in recent years despite the wealth of talent at their disposal, but they are being billed as one of favourites in Russia. But they face a stern test in the shape of the combative Central Americans.
Here, we take a look at who the key players for both sides will be.
Eden Hazard v Gabriel Torres
He’s one of a number of valuable options in a rich attacking line-up for Belgium, but much is still expected of Eden Hazard at this World Cup.
He endured an exhaustive 2017/18 season with Chelsea and copped rather a lot of criticism for a drop in his creative impact as the Blues struggled to a fifth-place finish a year after Antonio Conte led them to a glorious sixth Premier League title.
After 16 goals and five assists the previous year, Hazard was more hushed last term as he registered just 12 goals and four assists during a disappointing campaign, in which he only sparked to life towards the end.
With so many stars, however, the story can be rather different at international level, and Hazard has been devilishly good in the red of the Red Devils, netting six goals in eight games during qualifying, while his 22 in total mean he has scored the second highest in this current squad after Romelu Lukaku’s 36.
Spearheading Panama’s attack will be Huachipato striker Gabriel Torres, who at 29 is actually one of the younger members of this squad, which features nine players 30 or over.
Hernan Dario Gomez’s side will have to defend for long periods in this World Cup no doubt, and especially in their opener, where only a display full of energy and focus will give them a chance of getting a result.
But whenever they do have the chance to break and launch attacks of their own, Torres will be the man relied upon to put the ball in the back of the net.
He scored three goals on the road to Russia, although Gomez does have the ability to bring on veteran frontmen Blas Perez and Luis Tejada off the bench. The duo have each netted 43 international goals, with their combined efforts (86) only slightly higher than their combined age of 73.
Dries Mertens v Edgar Barcenas
Dries Mertens won’t dominate the same amount of spotlight or column inches as his more illustrious team-mates Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Lukaku – but the Napoli flyer is yet another flamboyant feature of this devastatingly explosive Belgium squad.
The veteran wideman followed up his astounding 2016/17 campaign for the Partenopei (34 goals were incredibly registered from out wide in 46 games in all competitions) with yet another impressive campaign in World Cup year.
Though it wasn’t as spectacular, he still weighed in with 22 goals and led the way for the Stadio San Paolo outfit – notching eight more times than Lorenzo Insigne, as Arkadiusz Milik only scored six times in another injury-blighted season in Serie A.
It seems almost implausible that the brilliant Belgian hasn’t stepped up to the elite club level yet with a plethora of Premier League clubs having held a long-term interest in him.
Recent reports suggest the 31-year-old won’t be going anywhere soon either as a purported £24 million (Dhxm) release clause in his contract expired days ago.
Edgar Barcenas is something of an enigma in this Panama squad, which has reached Russia on the back of a qualifying campaign hooked on tremendous team spirit and honest graft.
There aren’t any genuine superstars, although Barcenas can claim to offer some genuine class.
Nicknamed ‘El Mago’ (the Magician), the versatile midfielder is mobile and fleet of foot. Comfortable on either flank, if he gets the chance he can get behind the opposition defence while he is also adept at shooting from distance.
Jan Vertonghen v Roman Torres
For all the talent bursting to get out of this Belgium squad, there remains a fairly limited amount of experience – so we should perhaps be cautious when criticising the ‘Golden Generation’ for failing to live up to their billing.
Many stars have more than 50 caps but only Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen has broken the 100 mark – crossing the magical milestone earlier this month when he featured in a 0-0 friendly draw with Portugal.
The 31-year-old has been a stellar feature for both club and country for many years, and while he will let the likes of Hazard, De Bruyne, Mertens and Lukaku do their thing ahead of him, he will marshal a backline that will need to be resilient and sharp.
A beautiful ball player at the back who can do the dirty parts of defending when required, he will be just as vital to Belgium’s chances of glory as the great attacking talents in front of him.
The undoubted star of qualifying for Panama was defender Roman Torres, a Roman warrior of a player who grabbed an 88th minute goal against Costa Rica last October to send his side to dreamland.
They will be the 79th World Cup debutant when they head into battle with Belgium and warhorse Torres will be key – even if it is feared he won’t be in peak condition as he’s carrying an injury and might lack sharpness.
He and his side can take heart from Iceland’s heroic performance against Argentina on Saturday. Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men were the 78th team to appear for the first time at a World Cup in that game and performed admirably, a committed and concentrated defensive effort key to their 1-1 draw.
Torres will be the Ragnar Sigurdsson figure at the heart of the Panama defence, though he will have his work cut out against a team featuring a myriad of attacking wealth.
