World Cup 2025 – Belgium vs. Russia
The first match of the second Sunday at the 2025 FIFA World Cup will be played by Belgium’s national football team, who has obtained a hard worked victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opening match, and Russia, who has finished its match against South Korea with a draw. Winning this game is important for both teams, but Russia will be the most determined to finish victorious, as defeating Belgium would assure its top spot in Group H.
The match starts at 13:00 local time, at the Estadio Maracana in Rio De Janeiro.
The Belgian squad
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid, on loan from Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Sammy Bossut (Zulte Waregem).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Atlético Madrid), Laurent Ciman (Standard Liege), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit), Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern Munich), Anthony Vanden Borre (Anderlecht), Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham).
Midfielders: Nacer Chadli (Tottenham), Steven Defour (Porto), Moussa Dembélé (Tottenham), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Zenit).
Forwards: Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Kevin Mirallas (Everton), Divock Origi (Lille).
Coach: Marc Wilmots
The Russian squad
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Lodygin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Sergey Ryzhikov (Rubin Kazan).
Defenders: Vasili Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat (Dynamo Moscow), Andrey Eshchenko (Anzhi Makhachkala), Sergey Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexey Kozlov (Dynamo Moscow), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Terek Grozny), Georgi Schennikov (CSKA Moscow).
Midfielders: Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Zhirkov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexey Ionov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Victor Faizulin (Zenit St Petersburg), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Krasnodar).
Forwards: Maxim Kanunnikov (Amkar Perm), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexander Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow)
Coach: Fabio Capello from Italy
This will be the 31st match of the World Cup. Both teams will surely do their best to overcome their adversary, as they both are at their second match of the tournament, and a victory at this stage can assure their places in the Round of 16.
Russia, after a draw against South Korea, will need to win this game to ensure its top position in Group H, while Belgium, that has just hardly beat Bosnia and Herzegovina, also needs the points. Also, if Russia fails to achieve victory in this game, its points will only be enough to face Germany in the next stage, a match that will probably end with the Russian team being knocked out of the World Cup.
Predictors consider Belgium to have the better chances to finish this game with a victory, although the result will strongly depend on the strategy and moral of the team, shaken by the fight put up by Bosnia in their first match. Still, it’s most likely that the Rode Duivels (Red Devils, the nickname of the team) to beat Russia 2-1 today. Most sportsbooks agree, putting Belgium in the favorite position for this match.
Odds for the match, provided by 10bet
Belgium – 1.95
Draw – 3.45
Russia – 4.05
