One country is fielding a legitimate shot at a World Cup championship, the other is appearing in the World Cup for the first time ever. While Belgium and Panama are on opposite sides of the expectations spectrum for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, there is still a lot of excitement on both sides for this Group G debut match on Mon June 18th at 11am Eastern at Fisht Stadium in the city of Sochi. Belgium is the obvious favorite here, as they have a lineup full of European stars like Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Kukaku. Panama meanwhile will play the role of underdog. Little is known about their players, which to some extent gives them an advantage in the element of surprise. For more information on up-to-date lines for the World Cup check out our special Russia 2018 betting section, register today and join our bracket contest to win huge cash prizes..
Belgium
Belgium tore through qualifying with a 10-0 record. They will be appearing at the World Cup for a second consecutive time, after having missed the tournament in 2010 and 2006. Their best showing ever was in 1986, when Belgium's golden generation finished in fourth place. This year's squad will be looking to improve on that mark, claiming its stake as the new golden generation. They should have an easy time getting through the group stage, but what happens after that could be anyone's guess. The Belgians only made it to the quarterfinals at both the 2014 world Cup and the 2016 Euro cup.
Panama
Panama is making its World Cup debut in 2018 after almost sneaking into the 2014 tournament. They were denied entry into that World Cup in the final playoff game against the US, which they lead 2-1 going into stoppage time. The US went on to score two goals, winning the game and stealing the berth. This time around, Panama got its revenge. Again, on the final day of matches, the last spot was a toss-up between the US and the Panamanians, and all that the US had to do was defeat Trinidad and Tobago and hope for a Panama loss against Costa Rica. The US lost their game and Panama pulled off a 1-0 victory, however, and Panama finally got a World cup berth.
Match Overview
It would take a pretty catastrophic upset for Panama not to lose this game. This is one of the more lopsided matchups of the group stage, with Belgium holding a huge advantage. There are very high odds against Panama even drawing this game, let alone winning. There is no match history between these teams, so this will be the first meeting of the two countries. Panama will rely on defense, especially coming from now-national hero Roman Torres, who scored the winning goal that clenched the World Cup berth. Torres is 32 and plays for the Seattle Sounders. In goal, Panama will either go with the experienced Jaime Penedo, who helped them win the Gold Cup in 2005 and 2013, or Jose Calderon, who is the next most capped goaltender on this team. Belgium meanwhile will get a good warm-up out of this game, and may opt for testing some of their depth.
