Mousa Dembele would be the first player on the team-sheet for England in central midfield, according to Gary Neville.
The former Manchester United defender was discussing the depth of the England and Belgium squads ahead of the Thursday night’s Group G meeting at the World Cup.
Belgium won 1-0 thanks to Adnan Januzaj’s stunning second half winner.
Both teams made a number of changes having already qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament.
Mousa Dembele was handed a first start by Belgium boss Roberto Martinez, while England began with a central midfield trio of Eric Dier, Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
And Neville, speaking on ITV, emphasised the gulf in depth between England and Belgium in midfield.
“He would be the first name on England’s team-sheet [in midfield], make no mistake,” said Neville (via Squawka).
Dembele has just one year left on his current contract with Tottenham and is being heavily linked with a move to either Italy or China this summer.
The 30-year-old was relatively comfortable throughout against England, but Belgium are likely to re-introduce Axel Witsel and Kevin de Bruyne for the Round of 16.
