Kevin De Bruyne #7

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What do Jamal Musiala, Gavi and Anthony Gordon have in common? They all played in the KDB Cup, the now 10-year-old prestigious youth tournament named after (and supported by) Kevin De Bruyne. His own younger years – back when he frequently ran away from training because of arguments with coaches, was supporting Liverpool and went on a trial at Arsenal – seem a long time ago now. He arrives at the World Cup as an elder statesman, a Manchester City legend, with 422 games, 108 goals and 19 trophies, and one of Belgium’s last “golden generation” members. He certainly hopes to perform better than at the previous World Cup. If not, he’ll be flying home on his 35th birthday, since it falls right after the New Zealand game. But whatever happens, the family’s future looks bright after footage emerged of his seven-year-old son Rome scoring some of his dad’s trademark goals at Real Casarea, a club in the Napoli area.

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