England vs. Belgium: Team News, Live Stream, TV Info for World Cup 2018

With qualification secured for both England and Belgium already, what was set to be a potentially tantalising meeting between two elite sides doesn't have too much tension surrounding it.

As things stand in Group G in the World Cup, it's the Three Lions who lead the way thanks to the fair play rule. Their 6-1 win over Panama gave both England and Belgium identical records from their two games, with England's one less yellow card giving them the edge.

The fair play rule adds another interesting dynamic to this game, along with the question of whether or not it would be beneficial to top this group. The winner would most likely face a quarter-final with Brazil or Germany, whereas the runner-up, as it stands, may face either Mexico or Switzerland.

Regardless, an intriguing game is in store between two of the joint-top scorers in the competition. Below is the latest team news, the key viewing details for the match and a preview of what's to come.

Team News

Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has made it clear he will make changes for this game, with some important attackers set to sit the contest out. Having returned to training this week, Vincent Kompany may make his return to action too.

Gareth Southgate was less candid when it comes to disclosing how he will approach this game, although some fresh faces will likely come into the side. Marcus Rashford, having impressed in his cameo against Tunisia, is likely to feature.

Belgium Likely XI: Thibaut Courtois; Vincent Kompany, Dedryck Boyata, Toby Alderweireld; Thomas Meunier, Marouane Fellaini, Mousa Dembele, Jordan Lukaku; Thorgan Hazard, Nacer Chadli, Michy Batshuayi

England Likely XI: Jordan Pickford; Kieran Tripper, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Gary Cahill, Danny Rose; Eric Dier, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph; Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane

Date: Thursday, June 28

Time: 7 p.m. (BST), 2 p.m. (ET)

TV Info: ITV (UK), FOX Sports 1 or Fox (U.S.)

Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), FOX Sports Go (U.S.)

Preview

Both Martinez and Southgate have a number of big decisions to make in this game, in terms of personnel and whether or not winning it would actually be the best thing to do for their teams' World Cup hopes as a whole.

Rob Gutmann of The Anfield Wrap broke down the permutations from an England perspective:

Even so, the danger for both of these sides is that this game represents an opportunity to lose momentum after good beginnings to the tournament. Plus, Senegal, Colombia or Japan would represent testing opposition in the second round anyway.

Over the weekend both teams flexed their muscles from an attacking sense, as Belgium stuck five past Tunisia and England hammered in six against Panama. Between them, Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and England's Harry Kane have scored nine times in four games.

Victor Caivano/Associated Press

The firepower in the Red Devils attack may be diminished for this one, though. As noted by Kristof Terreur of Het Laatste Nieuws, there are some fitness concerns over the likes of Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens:

England are unlikely to rotate quite so much you sense, and given Kane leads the race for the Golden Boot, he'll want to get back on the pitch again as quickly as possible. As noted by sports writer Raj Bains, the Three Lions skipper is mixing it with some of the game's best at this tournament:

Given the amount of changes and the peculiar circumstances surrounding this match, it's a difficult one to call. However, you sense that when these two XIs get onto the pitch, there'll be a professional pride that emerges and a competitive encounter breaks out.

Both squads have holes in them, although both have attacking stars desperate to impress ahead of the knockout stages here. Expect an entertaining affair as these two gear up for the knockout bracket.

Prediction: Belgium 2-2 England