Roger Alton Roger Alton

Let’s not fret about brilliant Belgians

Here’s a question: name some famous Belgians. Well there’s Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, and Eden Hazard. And if that’s not enough, there’s Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens; not forgetting Toby Alderweireld and Thomas Vermaelen. Or Mousa Dembele, Thibaut Courtois, and Marouane Fellaini. If all goes well England will still be in with a chance of making the last 16 of the World Cup when they meet the mighty Belgians — not a line you see very often — in their final group match in exactly two weeks’ time.

England have, arguably, only one star of similar status: Harry Kane. But I’m less convinced than I was a few weeks ago that England are bound to lose this match in Kaliningrad. The Belgians are brilliant as individuals, but we don’t know how they will work as a team. Will they dissolve into internal bickering like the French in South Africa? And the World Cup can be harsh on strong-on-paper teams that are trying to break through — think of the luckless Dutch, or Spain’s many failures before their 2010 triumph. But it’s not just that: it’s more that misgivings about Gareth Southgate have surrendered to what may prove foolish optimism, but I hope not. This is an England team that seems at ease with itself and the world. Amazing what can be achieved once you’re shot of Wayne Rooney and John Terry.

The French Open final was much tighter than the score suggests. What a great backhand Dominic Thiem has. A Slam will soon be his —but not yet: Rafa Nadal’s game is just brutal. And that is the wonder of his success on clay, a surface that was once the canvas of the tennis artists: the Rosewalls, the Santanas, the Nastases.

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