2018 FIFA World Cup: Brazil vs Belgium - 3 key battles to watch out for

#2 De Bruyne vs Coutinho

Coutinho and De Bruyne are midfield wizards for their respective sides. Being regarded as the best playmakers, both have got a good pace, make great use of possession, efficient at shooting from long range, and have got excellent vision to find the right players at the right place and time.

Having scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist from 4 games, Coutinho has completed 225 successful passes at the rate of 90%, and at an average of 65 passes per game. He has a passing accuracy of 89.1% in opposition's half.

De Bruyne, on the other hand, has completed 142 successful passes at the rate of 81.6%, and at an average of 58 passes per game. Being an excellent crosser, he has provided 3 successful crosses so far and has provided 1 assist from 3 games. He has a passing accuracy of 73.9% in opposition's half.

Hence, this battle between two extremely competitive midfielders might prove to be one of the most decisive battles in the game today.