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SOCHI. — Roberto Martinez can’t wait to lead an outstanding Belgium side into the Soccer World Cup as they prepare to take on Panama in their opening game today.The match kicks-off at 5pm. A team who sit third in the FIFA rankings and who boast what is frequently labelled a golden generation featuring the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne have come to Russia with a considerable weight of expectation on their shoulders.

They are strongly fancied to progress to the knockout phase as winners of Group G, despite being drawn alongside England, and so it would be a major upset if they slipped up in Sochi against a side making their World Cup debut. “I would like to see that the team can play a game and not play the World Cup, to see a team where they enjoy the responsibility that they carry,” Martinez said at the Fisht Stadium here on Saturday. — AFP