Intimate enemies: Belgium has an English legion in a duel against England | Belgium

He can form a complete team with the Belgians working in England. And a team of good: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany and Vertonghen; Dembélé, Fellaini, Chadli, De Bruyne and Hazard; Batshuayi and Lukaku. And there is always a reserve guard, Mignolet.

Chelsea (with goalkeeper Courtois, midfielder Eden Hazard and striker Batshuayi, who is back after being loaned to Borussia Dortmund last season) and Tottenham (with defenders Alderweireld and Vertonghen and midfielder Dembélé) are the most represented clubs in the Belgian teamfollowed by rivals Manchester City (with Kompany and De Bruyne) and United (with Fellaini and Lukaku). Liverpool has goalkeeper Mignolet, and West Bromwich has midfielder Chadli.

In Belgium, athletes are led by Roberto Martínez, a Spaniard who owes much of his success to England. It was there that he began his coaching career in Swansea. He then joined Wigan and Everton before being called to lead the Belgian national team.

The cast still has players who do not play in the Premier League, but have left marks there. This is the case of Varmaelen, defender of Barcelona, ​​who played five seasons at Arsenal; or the defender Boyata, current player of Celtic, Scotland, but revealed by Manchester City. Still in Manchester, but at United, he played midfielder Januzaj for four seasons.

So many relations make that the players of Belgium aspire to the meeting with the English.

– We met a lot of Premier League players. Next season, let's say we beat them – said goalkeeper Courtois.

However, most Belgian players may not have the chance to face England. As Belgium is already qualified for the last 16, Martinez intends to retain its holders.

– At this moment we are clbadified. It was the priority. Now we have to look individually. We must be competitive, but our priority is not to win. We have players suspended, we do not risk losing them in the eliminations. There are also players with minor physical problems. It is very important to protect them and to leave them in the best conditions. I believe in all the actors of the distribution, it would be stupid not to believe them for tomorrow. I think we have the contribution of the 23 players. It's a chance that the group will grow up. Our priority is that everyone can contribute. If we can win tomorrow, well, that's not the priority, "said the coach.

England has 23 teams playing in their own country – no wonder, both teams know each other very well. Half of the 20 teams that played in the Premier League last season have at least one representative in the cast formed by Gareth Southgate.

In addition to Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, four clubs are represented:

• Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jack Butland (City of Stoke) and Nick Pope (Burnley)
• Two players come from Leicester City, champions of England in 2015/16: defender Harry Maguire and striker Jamie Vardy

England and Belgium seem to have a very friendly relationship. So, of course, the Belgians themselves said that they would take root for the English.

– England has a good young team. I hope that they will go from the front, as long as we continue – said defender Vermaelen.

"There is a clear structure in the Gareth Southgate team.And England has a generation with desire, willpower and great quality.It is a meticulous worker and I wish him good luck the day after tomorrow, "said Roberto Martinez.