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

Clubmates and Leaguemates

Harry Kane and Dele Alli are teammates at the club level as well

The UEFA Champions League and the World Cup have been oddly related when it comes to the tournament winners. Spain’s 2010 team had a core of the all-conquering Barcelona side - Gerard Pique, Xavi, Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Carles Puyol - and they were at their peak powers when it came to club football.

Germany boasted of seven Bayern Munich players out of the 14 who played in the final - the same club which had reached two of the three Champions League finals before the country’s World Cup triumph. The common element between the two sides was Pep Guardiola - at Barca first, before going to Bayern.

While England and Belgium both have players trained by him this year to great success with Manchester City (Sterling, de Bruyne, Kompany, Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Fabian Delph), the England and Belgium squads do have a lot of common themes between them.

Tottenham Hotspur has supplied Kane, Alli, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose and Eric Dier to England; Belgium’s Moussa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are also from Spurs.

These are all players in important positions with experience in the most competitive league in the world - and the familiarity helps. It doesn’t always come together - Spain currently have six players from Real Madrid, but still, look slightly lost at times - but it’s a unique trait to have.