World Cup 2018: Belgium fight back to beat Japan 3-2

 

GOAL! BELGIUM 3-2 JAPAN (Chadli 90+4)

WOW. WOW. WOW. WOW.

UNBELIEVABLE FINISH TO THIS GAME!

Courtois collects the corner, and forms a blistering counter-attack. Japan, granted, have far too many men forward.

Courtois rolls it to De Bruyne, who runs 50 yards and feeds Meunier, and Lukaku’s dummy finds Chadli at the back post to turn into the empty net!!

GOAL! BELGIUM 2-2 JAPAN (Fellaini 74)

BELGIUM BACK ON TERMS! WHAT A WORLD CUP!

Hazard does superbly as De Bruyne finds him on the left… he twists, turns and crosses brilliantly with his left foot, and it’s Fellaini (who else?!) who rises easily above the Japanese defenders to nod home!!

GOAL! BELGIUM 1-2 JAPAN (Vertonghen 69)

Bizarre entry back into the game for Belgium! Japan fail to properly clear a corner as Inui’s punt rises high.

Vertonghen is wide on the left of the box, around 18 yards from the goal, but somehow his header loops over Kawashima and into the far corner of the net!

Surely, surely he wasn’t going for goal?! Belgium within a goal of Japan now!

GOAL! BELGIUM 0-2 JAPAN (Inui 52)

Oh my lord! Belgium are completely stunned, and this is a brilliant strike from Inui.

Make no mistake, Belgium need to pressure Kagawa as he takes the ball down from the air and flicks it back for Inui.

He has so much time to line up an effort from 25 yards, but he finds the far right corner with a brilliant right-footed strike. What a goal!!!

GOAL! BELGIUM 0-1 JAPAN (Haraguchi 48)

Wow. This wasn’t in the script! Belgium try far too much up the other end again and Japan can break.

Inui does well to roll his man and find Shibasaki then plays Haraguchi on the right in space, and Vertonghen takes an age to get over. 

Haraguchi composes himself and finds the bottom left corner brilliantly!

 

Japan have never reached the quarter-final of international football’s elite tournament, while expectation of Roberto Martinez’s Belgium has gone through the roof after three group stage wins.

BELGIUM v JAPAN TEAM NEWS

Belgium welcome back several names following the 1-0 win over England; Courtois keeps his place, with Vincent Kompany starting for the first time at the World Cup.

For Japan, Okazaki was a doubt and doesn’t make it for the starting XI, and they make six changes.

JAPAN TEAM NEWS

Team to play Belgium: Kawashima, Shoji, Nagatomo, Sakai, Yoshida, Shibasaki, Haraguchi, Kagawa, Inui, Hasebe, Osako

BELGIUM TEAM NEWS

Team to play Japan: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen, Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel, Carrasco, Mertens, Hazard, Lukaku

CONTEXT

Belgium will have a refreshed side to choose from as they face Japan tonight.

Roberto Martinez left most of his first-choice players on the bench on Thursday against England, but still came away with a 1-0 victory to uphold their 100 per cent record in Group G.

Belgium are looking to reach the quarter-finals for only the second time since 1986, while Japan have never reached the last eight of the tournament, appearing at this stage two times previously.

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