World Cup 2014 - Familiar foe for Nabil

As he relishes the possibility of a potential midfield battle with some of his Spurs colleagues, Nabil Bentaleb reckons Algeria will have to be strong all over the pitch if they’re to get past Belgium in their World Cup opener.

Group H gets underway on Tuesday at 5pm with the Algerians taking on a much-hyped Belgian side that includes Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli.

And while there’s every chance Nabil could go toe-to-toe with Mousa or Nacer in central midfield, our 19-year-old star is expecting the contest to spill further afield than just his area of the pitch.

“We all know Belgium have big players like Mousa, Nacer and Jan – as well as players from other clubs like Eden Hazard,” said Nabil, who scored in his nation’s final pre-tournament friendly against Romania almost a fortnight ago.

“They are strong everywhere so I don’t think the battle is going to be won in the middle because they have players that can make the difference in one-v-ones.”

While demonstrating a clear knowledge of Algeria’s opponents, Nabil says he’d love the chance to play against the Red Devils in a bid to pick up some early points with group matches against South Korea and Russia still to play.

And it’s evident that the magnitude of the opportunities he continues to enjoy are not lost on our teenage battler.

“It will be great if I get the chance to play against those players,” he added. “We know what Belgium are capable of so we will be going and working hard. It will be a massive game for us.”

Tottenham UTC is holding a special event in the marquee at White Hart Lane on Tuesday afternoon, with Belgium v Algeria being screened live. Click here for more details...