England and Belgium each have six points, so a game this Thursday could decide which team will end up topping Group G. In any case, if you’re into star power, this game is one of the key World Cup matches to watch this week.
If England’s opening game in Russia was a heart-stopping 2-1 win over Tunisia, the following one was a yawner, as the Red Devils dismantled Panama in a 6-1 victory. Granted that it was against a minnow, sometimes it’s wins like that which inspires a team so much it takes them to a higher level of play and stays there for the rest of the rest of the tournament. Forward Harry Kane made Panama eat three goals with a hat trick bringing his tournament total to five goals. With a sure seat in the next round, England may experiment a little more here and get their other strikers more involved to boost their morale heading into the knockout stage in Russia. Having said that, two other players scored for England in the Panama match with John Stones and Jesse Lingrad each finding the back of the net.
Betting on Belgium (+175)
England is not the only team whose offense is flying in Group G play. There are also the Red Devils, who pounded Tunisia last Saturday in a 5-2 win. Prior to that, Belgium blanked Panama in a 3-0 victory. Romelu Lukaku followed his brace in the Panama match with another against Tunisia, so he’s England’s Kane is not the only player entering Thursday’s match on some kind of hot streak. However, Lukaku may not play his usual minutes on the pitch, as Belgium could consider preserving his energy for a more important match in the round of 16. That’s likely what England will do to Kane and some other key players, so this outing in Kaliningrad may boil down to which team is deeper. In such case, Michy Batshuayi could just be the gut who’ll step up for Belgium. Batshuayi already announced his presence in the tournament with a goal against Tunisia.
