Eden Hazard has never looked better. That was the verdict of his clubmate Thibaut Courtois as Belgium arrived in Sochi for their opening game against Panama. Roberto Martínez, meanwhile, said that the Chelsea forward was in a “great moment” and insisted that “one on one”, he is “as good as anyone in the world”.

The Belgium manager also confirmed that he would not make any changes to his squad before the deadline, confident that Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen will overcome injury to play a part in Russia.

Belgium had until 6pm on Sunday to bring in replacements having travelled here without Vermaelen, who remained in Moscow for treatment, and with Kompany also not fit. But Martínez, who had sent home the back-up central defender Laurent Ciman the day before, said a final decision had been made on Sunday morning to stick with the original 23 players – meaning that Celtic centre-back Dedryck Boyata is set to start in the middle of the defence flanked by Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. Kompany should return to face England on 28 June.

There are no such doubts about Hazard, who along with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne will have the responsibility for leading a generation that has great expectations. Asked what would count as success, Courtois was clear. “Winning it, I think,” he said.

Roberto Martínez: ‘At the World Cup we need to show we are prepared to suffer’ Read more

“I have known Eden for so many years but I don’t think I have seen him train and play this amazing as in these last three weeks and these last games,” the goalkeeper said. “I am very pleased and I hope he can show that at the tournament but we don’t just need him; we also need Romelu [Lukaku], Kevin, who is playing well at City, and other players too. If we want to go far, we will need all them at their best – and I feel that we are playing well.”

Martínez said: “Eden’s end to the season, with him winning a trophy and the way he played at Wembley in the [FA Cup] semi-final and final has prepared him perfectly for the World Cup. He looks fresh, mentally ready, and the relationship he has with the players around him here allows his influence on the game to be on a great scale. He has looked very sharp in the last two friendlies, he has that mentality from the end of the season and we’re very happy with his preparation.

“Eden is in a great moment of his career. He is a captain, he’s at a good age, he has leadership. He never has any problem showing for the ball and one on one he is as good as anyone in the world. He has focus, he’s scoring goals. But if we think that we’re going to win games with one, two or three players, we’re mistaken. We are relying on every player.”

Martínez also insisted on the importance of De Bruyne. “Kevin is an essential part of my team,” he said. “He plays in a role now that affects all the players around him, we want him to be the playmaker that makes us tick, decides when we go and when we don’t go. He is important for all the team and how we want to play. We are privileged to have this group of players. I want to see them enjoy their football – because when they do that they can do anything.”

The stadium in Sochi sits alongside the Black Sea and Courtois was asked whether the players might go to the beach, perhaps after the game if they win. “If we win we’ll catch the plane to Moscow; holidays is for after we win the World Cup,” he said.