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

Youth and Golden Generation

A lot has been spoken about Belgium's golden generation

Belgium’s golden generation has finally blossomed into their prime. With an average age of 27.6 years, they are at the top of their games - with Hazard, de Bruyne (both 27), and Mertens (31) supported by the slightly younger but equally effective Lukaku (25) and Carrasco (24).

There is the senior contingent of defenders but their oldest members are Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen (both 32). Thibaut Courtois is 26 but vastly experienced. This squad has been spoken about for ages, and it’s finally culminated into winning three out of three games at the World Cup so far. They should be able to brush Japan aside with ease.

For England, this is their youngest ever World Cup squad and the third youngest in Russia. Only five of the players who went to Brazil in 2014 have managed to be selected for the 2018 edition.

They also have the least experienced squad in terms of international caps - but that didn’t stop Gareth Southgate from making some bold decisions. The likes of Alexander Trent-Arnold, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Harry Maguire in the squad shows that the England side has been selected on merit this time.

As for Martinez, he left out Radja Nainggolan in a shock decision - but his team doesn’t seem to have missed him too much.