World Cup 2018, Belgium 3-0 Panama: 3 key battles that decided the game

#3 Jan Vertonghen vs Edgar Barcenas

Considering his usual standards, it was not a great game for the Spurs centre back

Despite keeping a clean sheet for the team, it was an unusually shaky game for the Belgian defender as he got caught out of possession way too many times than normal. After an excellent season for Spurs in which he was their best defender all season, Vertonghen was the last person you would have expected to have a poor game tonight.

Edgar Barcenas and Murillo made very good use of that, and the latter almost scored for Panama only to be denied by a fully sprawled Courtois rushing his line. It was Vertonghen who had played him onside, and it was Vertonghen who was screaming his lungs off at the rest of his defence asking them to get into position.

Barcena's both shots on the night went out of the target, but it was the right flank they were rightly targetting with Carrasco having an off-night for the team as well.

It might have had to do with the 3 man defence Belgium were running, instead of the classic 4 man defence that Vertonghen is used to at Spurs, or the absence of Viktor Kompany in the team, whom Vertonghen has a shared chemistry with.

Barcenas and Panama have to wait for their first WC goal, but if they can keep up the same style of play and pressure, they have a very good chance against Tunisia. And seeing as how England is England, that is always a possibility.