Perennial underachievers England and one of the dark horses of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia Belgium are two prominent teams of Group G while Panama and Tunisia will look to offer these two giants stiff resistance and provide an action-packed group phase. The Three Lions have so horribly underwhelmed at major championships that their fans rarely dare to dream, but under Gareth Southgate this young crop of Englishmen led by Harry Kane has everyone believing again. Belgium has plenty of star players and has looked good in the friendlies too making them a very efficient opposition. While Panama and Tunisia both have a very inexperienced side and their mere presence at the World Cup is a massive achievement for them. Group G of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to commence on June 17 and last until 27. Here’s a look at 2018 FIFA World Cup Group G (Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, and England) schedule timetable including match dates, venues, and kick-off time. 2018 FIFA World Cup Schedule in IST for PDF Download: Fixtures, Groups, Time Table with Matches in Indian Time & Venue Details of Football WC in Russia.

Gareth Southgate announced his final 23 a lot prior to the June 4 deadline, and there were two notable absentees from the final list. Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere both found themselves missing from the squad picked for the World Cup. The retirement of Wayne Rooney meant the new era under Harry Kane will begin in Russia for the Three Lions. Three men who have created quite a name for themselves and have a lot of expectation from the English fans are Raheem Sterling, Eric Dier and Marcus Rashford and they will have their task cut out.

Belgium managed by Roberto Martinez has quality in every department, and it will be a major disappointment for them if they do not go further in the competition. With Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Dries Mertens leading the attack, scoring goals should not be a problem for them. In defense they have Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen who are both quite very sound centre-backs. Mousa Dembele will be the focal point in the midfield, and his role will be of a traditional box to box midfielder.

Panama playing their first World Cup has a very important task ahead of them when they take the field in Russia. They will have to be the stepping stone for football development back home where boxing and basketball are the dominant sport. They will have nothing to prove and will almost certainly play with no fear. Jaime Penedo, Roman Torres and Gabriel Torres will be the key men for them with Roman Torres a national hero scoring two goals in the qualification phase.

Tunisia has two players with more than 20 international caps which tell us about how relatively inexperienced their squad is. One of the big names is Wahbi Khazri who is on loan at Rennes from Sunderland and scored eleven goals last season. Aymen Abdennour is a capable defender who plies his trade in France. Having won the African Cup of Nations in 2014, Tunisia has struggled at international level for quite some time now.

Group G of 2018 FIFA World Cup Timetable: List of Matches with Kick-off Times

Group G Prediction

This group is a race between England and Belgium to outsmart each other to come out on top and hence the meeting of these two sides is of enormous significance. Panama and Tunisia will in all probability make up the number, but these things are hardly of any significance for their fans who will turn up in huge numbers to cheer for them. Teams that progress from the Group – Belgium and England.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2018 12:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).