World Cup 2018: Five tastiest midfield head-to-heads to look forward to

Kevin De Bruyne v Jordan Henderson (Belgium v England, 28/6/2018)

Belgium v Costa Rica - International Friendly

The two European sides are set to go head to head to claim the honours in Group G. Both are fully expected to have too much for Tunisia and Panama in their opening fixtures, meaning that their final encounter is set to decide top spot.

It is a particularly intriguing battle because the core of the Belgium squad play their football in the Premier League, while England’s panel is the only one to be drawn exclusively from their own country. As such, all of these players know the strengths of one another inside out and know exactly what to expect.

In De Bruyne, they have one of the best midfielders in the world, a talent who has spent much of the last season ripping up the Premier League as his Manchester City side stormed away to take the title by a record margin. He managed eight goals and 16 assists for Pep Guardiola’s side and Roberto Martinez will be hopeful of achieving similarly prolific numbers.

One of the men liable to be tasked with stopping the Belgian is Jordan Henderson, a man who helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final. He may be a figure often lamented, but his steady performances helped Jurgen Klopp’s men reach that standard. If they are to achieve anything in the World Cup, he will have to be at his best.

England cannot afford to focus their efforts too much on one player as Belgium have the likes of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku lurking, increasing the difficulty of their task.