Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany has been benched for Belgium's World Cup opener against Panama.

Celtic's Dedryck Boyata will replace the Sky Blues captain in the Red Devils' backline while Kompany continues his return to fitness following a spell on the sidelines.

Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku will operate as a lone striker for Roberto Martinez's side, with Chelse's Eden Hazard and Napoli's Dries Mertens providing support from wide positions.

Kompany's City teammate Kevin De Bruyne starts in midfield as the playmaker in a 3-4-3 formation.

Meanwhile, Panama have taken a gamble on the fitness of centre-back Roman Torres and paired him up with Fidel Escobar at the back.

Veteran striker Blas Perez spearheads the Central America side's attack, playing off Edgar Yoel Barcenas and Jose Rodriquez.

Belgium: Courtois; Alderweireld, Boyata, Vertonghen; Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel, Carrasco; Mertens, Lukaku, Hazard
Subs: Kompany, Fellaini, Mignolet, Casteels, Hazard, Tielemans, Januzaj, Dembele, Batshuayi, Chadli, Dendoncker

Panama: Penedo; Murillo, Escobar, Torres, Davis; Gomez, Godoy, Cooper, Rodriguez, Barcenas; Perez
Subs: Cummings, Torres, Diaz, Calderon, Machado, Pimentel, Arroyo, Ovalle, Tejada, Avila, A. Rodriguez, Baloy

Follow the match live with Sports Mole's text commentary here.

Written by
Mark Langshaw