Belgium World Cup 2018 squad and team guide

The Hazard brothers, Thorgan (left) and Eden (right), are both Belgium internationals
The Hazard brothers, Thorgan (left) and Eden (right), are both Belgium internationals Credit: reuters

Here we take a look at Belgium's World Cup squad and the other things it will be handy to know.

Belgium's preliminary World Cup squad - the 24

24-man squad*

*Roberto Martinez said that World Cup rules allowed the final squad to be named 24 hours before they kick off their campaign

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).

Belgium fans expect their team to do well Credit: getty images

Belgium's World Cup 2018 fixtures

  • Panama: Monday, June 18 at 4pm
  • Tunisia: Saturday, June 23 at 1pm
  • England: Thursday, June 28 at 7pm

How do you think Belgium should line up?

Pick your XI here:

What odds are Belgium to win the World Cup?

10/1

The kits

See where Belgium's shirts ends up in our ranking of all 64 World Cup shirts below:

Who's the coach?

Roberto Martinez. Ever-smiling and ultra-positive, but his defensive nous is open to question. Decision to leave out Radja Nainggolan has proved controversial.

What are his and Belgium's tactics and likely formation?

JJ Bull on how the Red Devils' squad of superstars could finally fulfil their potential and deliver:

Who's the star?

Plenty to choose from, but Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard are the picks of a very talented bunch.

Best thing about them

A squad which is the envy of almost every nation on the planet. Loud, boisterous fans.

Worst thing about them

Culture of underachievement at major tournaments. The perennial 'dark horses' tag no longer applies - this team should be challenging.

You may recognise...

Quicker to list those you won't. For added confusion, the squad also contains the lookalikey brothers of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku (Thorgan and Jordan).

Cameramen will be picking out...

The proud Lukaku and Hazard parents, presumably.

Fans' favourite chant

A viral video from 2016 showed Belgian and Ireland fans congregating in the shared language of 'La-la-la-la-las'.

On-field prediction

Imperious right up until they meekly exit in the quarter-finals to some gnarled South Americans.

Off-field prediction

Fine until they go out, then anonymous media briefings about the standard of hotel catering and a 'coarse' feel to the grass at their training base.