The Red Devils had a similarly winnable opener against Algeria four years ago but had to dig deep to earn a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Dries Mertens and Marouane Fellaini. Jan has not forgotten that vital victory as he looks ahead to their Group G starter against Panama in Sochi on Monday (4pm UK).
“It’s a massive game,” he said. “In the World Cup four years ago, we won that first game quite late against Algeria. We went behind in that match. It was a massive, massive win. It was our first major tournament as a group and it was so important to win that first game.