World Cup 2018: What we learned from day five
On the face of it Belgiums 3-0 win over Panama is exactly what you might have expected. But despite the healthy scoreline, Roberto Martinezs side looked far from the polished, fully-formed article.
It took Dries Mertens wonderful volley to put them ahead after a frustrating first half and although Romelu Lukakus finishing was impressive, there are questions still to be answered by Belgium.
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Better teams will surely look to exploit a tactical system which seems like Martinezs attempt to cram all the talent he can into the line-up.
The resulting 3-5-1-1 formation was problematic in Sochi. Yannick Carrasco is not a wing-back, let alone a left-sided one; Kevin De Bruyne appeared frustrated in a deeper role; and a back-three with the defensively-minded Axel Witsel in front of them looked unnecessary.
Mertens lengthens list of World Cup wonder goals
If the nature of Belgiums win said much about their position, their opening goal reflected the quality of strikes weve been treated to in the first five days.
Mertens crisply-struck dipping volley was sumptuous and even prompted something approaching enjoyment from BBC commentator Mark Lawrenson.
Spain's Nacho provided an early contender for goal of the tournament against Portugal (Source: Getty)
The Napoli forwards finish sees him add to an already decent array of goals: Denis Cheryshevs outside-of-the-boot steer; Nachos aesthetically-pleasing side-volley off the post and Cristiano Ronaldos last-gasp free-kick in Portugals 3-3 draw with Spain; Aleksandar Kolarovs bending free-kick and Philippe Coutinhos trademark curler against Switzerland.
More from where those came from please.
Tunisia's tactics underline VAR's early imperfections
We dont want to be talking about the video assistant referees do we? But Tunisias novel approach to man-marking at set pieces against England meant the what already feels like an age-old debate reared its head again.
Kyle Walker gave away a penalty for an elbow on Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, but regardless of your opinion of referee Wilmar Roldans decision, VAR was correct in allowing it to stand: no clear and obvious error had been made.
However, England captain Harry Kane was wrestled to the ground in the box on two occasions. Ferjani Sassis foul in the first half was particularly blatant, yet no intervention came from the four officials with the screens.
VAR has already done plenty of good at this tournament, often highlighting infringements the referee has missed, but it still has some way to go to achieve acceptance.
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