In Belgium, people have already reached their first verdict on new national team coach Mark van Bommel. The Dutchman has not even properly started work at the Belgian federation yet, but fans have already identified what could be a major problem.
La Dernière Heure ran a survey in the French-speaking part of Belgium to find out whether Van Bommel is seen as the ideal successor to Rudi Garcia. It found that 90 per cent are far from convinced.
Much of that comes down to the fact Van Bommel does not yet speak French fluently. In Wallonia in particular, the biggest French-speaking part of Belgium, that is seen as crucial for a successful national team coach.
Even so, Van Bommel is determined to make it work and has made no secret of wanting to improve his French straight away. Earlier in his playing career, he had already shown how quickly he could pick up Spanish, German and Italian after arriving in Barcelona, Munich and Milan respectively.
Still, that will give the Belgians some hope, because there is a general feeling that Van Bommel will do better than Garcia, who made a number of remarkable decisions at the last World Cup. "But that is not so difficult," Het Laatste Nieuws writes.
For the time being, assistant Maarten Martens will be relied on heavily to get through to the French-speaking players. The former international speaks fluent French and could become an important link between Van Bommel and the French-speaking internationals.
As for Van Bommel, he is relishing the chance to get started in his new job. "Success is never guaranteed, but hard work, honesty and dedication are. We will give everything to help this team improve every day and to make the Belgian people proud. I am looking forward to meeting the players, the staff and the supporters, and to starting this new chapter together," he said.