Group G contains World Cup favourites Belgium and perennial underachievers England, but unpredictable Tunisia and newbies Panama won’t let the big boys have it all their own way.
Here are 10 things you need to know ahead of June 19 when group G kicks off their 2018 World Cup in Russia.
1. You again?
England has already faced Belgium at the World Cup twice. The first occasion was during the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland where both teams played out an entertaining 4-4 all draw. The second time was at Italia 90. A dour game came to life when a magnificent pass by Paul Gascoigne found David Platt who scored an incredible over the shoulder volley in extra-time that put the Three Lions into the quarter finals.
2. The Undefeated
Belgium are ranked fifth in the FIFA rankings and were ruthless on the Road to Russia. With EPL stars Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazrard, and Kevin De Bruyne the Chocolate makers scored 43 goals during their 10 qualifying games and topped their group by nine points. They only conceded six goals and were unbeaten throughout their World Cup qualification campaign.
3. The Newbies
After 10 attempts to qualify for a World Cup, Panama finally secured a spot at Russia 2018 at their 11th attempt and they did it on a drama packed last match day of CONCACAF qualifying. The Central Americans can thank Roman Torres whose winner over Costa Rica helped Panama book a spot at their first ever World Cup. As a result, a national holiday was declared by the country’s president.

4. Can Tunisia make history?
Tunisia was the first African country to quality for a World Cup when they secured a spot in Argentina 1978. In total they have qualified for four World Cups but they have never made it out of the group stages. They made consecutive World Cups between 1998 and 2006 and after 12 years away from football’s biggest stage, the African nation will be hoping to advance past Group G and make history in Russia.

5. They don’t think it’s 1966
It’s been a long trophyless 52 years since Old Blighty lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy when they won the World Cup on home soil in 1966. It’s not like England haven’t had plenty of chances - since 1950 they have only missed out on qualification for the World Cup on two occasions when they failed to make the 1978 and 1994 tournaments. A lack of big name stars means that ahead of Russia, English fans aren’t as confident as previous World Cups but it doesn’t mean that deep down they aren’t dreaming of bringing the trophy back home.
6. Three at the back does work
After starting with a 4-3-3 formation to commence their World Cup qualifying campaign, Belgium’s Argentinian coach Roberto Martinez switched to a 3-4-2-1 and found great success. The change in formation has ironed out their perceived weakness in defence and with Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld and Vertonghen all playing in a three-man defence for their clubs, Belgium looks a danger. Especially when combined with their impressive attacking qualities.

7. Three times the charm
Alongside Frenchman Henri Michel, Panama boss Hernan Dario Gomez is the only coach to have qualified three different teams to a World Cup. Gomez led Colombia to the 1998 finals and took Ecuador to South Korea and Japan four years later. At each World Cup he guided his teams to one win - Panama will be hoping he can at least repeat the feat.
8. It’s deja vu all over again
England has faced Tunisia at a World Cup before when the two teams were in the same group at the 1998 World Cup in France. When the Three Lions faced Tunisia in their Group G fixture, they won 2-0 thanks to goals by Paul Scholes and Alan Shearer. But Tunisia will take heart that the first time they met, in 1990, they came away with a 0-0 draw - albeit it was an international friendly that took place at home.
9. Let’s keep it local
During their World Cup qualifying campaign, England coach Gareth Southgate only used players that had played in the domestic competition. The only other country who selected players exclusively from its local league was Saudi Arabia.

10. The oldest and the youngest… almost
Out of the 32 teams who will be competing in Russia, Panama possessed the oldest squad during World Cup qualifying with an average age of 29.4. In-fact La Marea Roja has 11 players in their squad that are over 30 years old. Meanwhile, with Manchester duo Marcus Rashford (20) and Raheem Sterling and Tottenham's Dele Ali England’s average age during qualifying was 25.9, making them the third-youngest team behind Germany and Nigeria.
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