World Cup 2018: 6 Reasons why England and Belgium finally look like Contenders 

The Strikers

Harry Kane has led England well so far

Kane and Lukaku have had impressive seasons at their clubs, with the England captain scoring 41 goals in all competitions for Tottenham Hotspur. Lukaku’s first season at Manchester United ended with him scoring 27 goals and creating nine.

With Kane, 24, and Lukaku a year older, both still have frightening potential but have already shown their quality at the World Cup. No wonder then, that their sides look short of confidence up front when they’re not playing.

The backup attack isn’t that bad either. For England, Marcus Rashford has pace but can go missing with his finishing at times, but there is Dele Alli behind Kane and he can really cause damage if he gets going - which he hasn’t yet. Raheem Sterling hasn’t brought his Manchester City form to Russia and England will hope that changes soon.

Belgium’s goal-spread is incredibly tempting. Dries Mertens (22 goals, 12 assists for Napoli), Eden Hazard (17 goals, 13 assists for Chelsea), and Kevin de Bruyne (12 goals, 21 assists for City) are all loaded with the ability to score and create from anywhere. It was also quite heartening to see young Adnan Januzaj score a worldie against England.