Qatar World Cup: Your guide to the 13 European teams competing at football extravaganza

BELGIUM

Belgium didn’t lose any of their qualifying games for the World Cup, coming top of a group containing Wales and the Czech Republic. 

At the World Cup four years ago, Belgium beat England in a play-off match to come third, their best-ever tournament. 

Since then, the team has lost some of its top players who were nicknamed the "golden generation", such as ex-Manchester City star Vincent Kompany. 

But there is still quality and the team’s friendly against Egypt in Kuwait on Friday will be an opportunity to get some good results before the World Cup.

Midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is a genius, he can do everything with a ball faster than his opponent. However, the fact he can do everything also puts a lot of pressure on his shoulders. 

Leandro Trossard is in great shape. He has scored goals against Manchester City and Chelsea this season, as well as a hat-trick against Liverpool.

Wall. Experience. Creativity.

Wall, because we have Thibaut Courtois from Real Madrid in goal, who is impossible to get past. Experience, as we have eleven players who are over 30 years old. And finally, I would say creativity.

There isn’t too much pressure on the team, which leads to slightly less ambition and expectations. This sentiment is also linked to the fact that the team is getting older.

[Words: Belgium football journalist Sven Claes, as told to Estelle Nilsson-Julien]

The qualifiers were wobbly and the head coach, Zlatko Dalić, was searching for the right formation. But qualification for the World Cup was never existential, despite an unexpected loss to Slovenia. Croatia is quietly optimistic and there aren’t a lot of question marks surrounding the team.

I would say Luka Modrić. He is 37 and still in great shape. He is the captain and leader of