One World Cup group where things have gone to plan for the big teams so far has been Group G. England and Belgium have won their opening two games to bag six points and qualify for the knockout stage with a game to spare. On Thursday the pair meet in their final group game and while qualification is already assured, both would like to win the group and both would love nothing more than bragging rights and gaining confidence over a rival.

England and Belgium have not really been rivals over the past few decades, but recently things have changed. Belgium have improved as a footballing nation, and alongside this they also have a number of their players playing in the English Premier League. The players for each of these nations play alongside each other or against each other every single week in the Premier League, making the game between them a little more interesting.

This also makes the game a lot more interesting for fans watching, especially England fans who will more than likely cheer someone on from Belgium week in week out when watching their club. The English fans would love to see their homegrown players beating the Premier League’s foreign imports on the world stage, something that England have a genuine chance of doing on Thursday.

England vs Belgium – Comparing the Form

England have started the World Cup very brightly and their most recent performance, a 6-1 beating of Panama, was one of the best performances we have seen from anyone so far. Much of the talk this summer has been about the disappointments of Brazil, Argentina and Germany, while few are mentioning just how good England were on Sunday against Panama. If they can play like that, they would fancy their chances against anyone in this tournament, and that includes Belgium.

Belgium too have been impressive, beating Panama 3-0 and Tunisia 5-2 to put themselves in a very good position. They have expectations on their shoulders, many people think Belgium can go close to winning the World Cup this summer. So far we have seen them look in control, and with a very solid back line to accompany their explosive attacking options, there is a lot to like about their team.

Kane vs Lukaku – Expect Goals

Harry Kane is the current leader in the Golden Boot race with five goals, while Romelu Lukaku sits just behind him with four. These two have been in deadly form so far in front of goal, and don’t be surprised to see that continue in this game, even though the opposition is much tougher.

While you won’t see long dribbling runs from these two, they do know where to find the back of the net and they also put themselves in exactly the right position at the right time. With these two in attack, should any chances arrive in the penalty area, expect them to be close by and taking advantage of them. We will see two world class strikers in this game on Thursday, so expect to see plenty of goals.

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