1966 was the last time that a team came back from two goals down to win a knockout match in regulation time. On that occasion, Eusebio’s 4 goals helped Portugal beat North Korea 5-3.
What an absolute classic folks. Unreal as Japan looked set to win the biggest game of their World Cup history, only for Belgium to strike back. Perhaps the game of the tournament thus far, toppling France-Argentina.
KAGAWA IS GUTTED: Why wouldn’t he be? Smashes the ground in frustration. Spare a though for Japan who played their part in making this one of the greatest matches of all time!
Here’s the Belgium winner: WHAT A BLISTERING COUNTER ATTACK! And Lukaku’s presence of mind. Wow.
FULL TIME, BELGIUM HAVE WON! WHAT A MATCH! WHAT A STUNNING MATCH!
WHAT A FANTASTIC COUNTER ATTACK!!! WOW. Courtois collects the corner and rolls the ball out to KDB and the counter is on! KDB to Meunier, who plays it across goal, Lukaku with a fantastic dummy, Chadli strokes it home!
94th minute: GOALLLLLLLLLLL BELGIUMMMMMMM!!!!
94th minute: Honda strikes it from distance and Courtois had to be alive for it. Last minute of extra time. 2-2.
Two mins into stoppage time: Japan playing keep ball now! (THANKS GUYS! WE ALL NEED A BREATHER!) And suddenly, Kompany commits a silly foul in a central area. Wow, this could be a costly, costly error.
90th min: COURTOIS SAVES! OH WOW! Witsel almost puts into the back of the net from a Nagatomo cross, Courtois is alert and pushes it away.
86th min: DOUBLE SAVE KAWASHIMA! Meunier has been fantastic down the right flank.
A cross to the far post finds Chadli who heads at goal and finds Kawashima (theatrically) pushing the ball away. Another cross comes in, this time Lukaku is in plenty of space and heads it powerfully at goal and this time Kawashima leaps high and pushes it away! STUNNING FINISH TO THIS GAME!
After 85 mins, it’s 2-2: We are not sure about how Japan’s coach is feeling about the game being this open, but this is some entertainment! Japan go close but are saved by a last ditch Alderweireld intervention.
After 82 mins, it’s 2-2: It’s still end to end in Rostov-on-Don. Both teams pushing forward. No caution as such! MAD ENTERTAINMENT THIS!
SUB: HONDA (IN) REPLACES HARAGUCHI (OUT)
After 78 minutes, it’s Japan 2-2 Belgium: Remember what we said about the previous meeting between these two sides in 2002? When Belgium and Japan meant in 2002, it ended 2-2 with all four goals coming between minutes 57 and 75. Tonight it’s 2-2 with four goals between 48 and 74 minutes!
74th min: GOALLLL BELGIUM!!! FELLAINI!!! Oh wow. Martinez knows what he’s doing or what! Fellaini heads it in from a Hazard cross. They’re still in this World Cup. 2-2.
73rd minute: BELGIUM ARE ON THE CHARGE. Japan, inexplicably are pouring forward now, and that’s leaving spaces at the back. Hazard and KDB combine on the counter, the latter gets a shot away and it’s heroically blocked away for a corner yet again.
69th minute: GOALLLLLLLLL BELGIUM!!!!! GOODNESS, DID VERTONGHEN MEAN THAT?!
Japan don’t deal with a set-piece very well, with Kawashima punching through the crowd first and then Nagatomo hacking the ball in the air – it loops up from the right flank to the left flank inside the box, from where Vertonghen heads the ball back –- and it loops all the way back into the goal. STUNNNNINGGG!
68th min: HEROIC BLOCK BY YOSHIDA! Another cutback from the right flank, Lukaku is charging in at the near post, but Yoshida gets goal-side and clears away.
After 67 mins, Japan lead 2-0: Double change for Belgium. Mertens off, Fellain on (HMMM!) Chadli on for Carrasco. Roberto Martinez looks as shocked as the rest of us, as Belgium trail 0-2.
65th min: Japan threaten again! Imagine a third goal... well, actually, right now, it’s not that hard to. Kagawa releases Sakai behind the Belgian defence, his cutback is nervously kicked away by Courtois and Osako can’t direct the rebound on goal.
62nd min: WHAT A MISS BY LUKAKU!!! One of the misses of the World Cup surely?! A lovely cross by Meunier from the right flank, Lukaku heads wide without any pressure, from two yards away.
61st minute: We are still coming to terms to what we have seen in this second half... and it seems so are Belgium.
59th minute: Japan are enjoying plenty of open spaces in Belgium’s half now. Haraguchi with plenty of room on the right flank and his cross is headed away by Witsel for a corner. Belgium defend that well enough but they are not able to break forward here. They are simply rattled!
After 55 mins, Japan lead 2-0: WHAT A SHOCK WE HAVE ON THE CARDS HERE! Are Belgium headed out of this World Cup? Kagawa passes it to Inui, who thrashes the ball past Courtois. 2-0 to JAPAN!! Believe it, folks.
52nd min: GOALLLLLLLLLL JAPANNNNNNNNNN! SCENEEESSSSSS! INUI WITH A STUNNING STRIKE!
49th min: HAZARD HITS THE POST! WHAT A START TO THE SECOND HALF! Belgium hit back almost straight away. Hazard latches on to a cutback from the right flank and shoots at goal, with Kawashima beaten, it strikes the right post and away from danger.
48th minute: GOALLLLLLLLL JAPANNNNNNNNN!!!!! WOWOW. Haraguchi! Jan Vertonghen miscontrols an interception, and Harguchi is through on goal – he thinks about cutting from the right flank, decides against it and sends a shot across goal and into the net!
46th minute: No changes for either side... we are underway in Rostov-on-Don for the second half.
FIRST HALF STATS: Belgium have managed to shade possession here, but only 2 of their 10 attempts have been on target. Crucial second half coming up.
HALF-TIME: This was when Courtois almost has his De Gea moment. Like we said though, would have been offside against Osako, to avoid any potential embarrassment.
HALF-TIME, it’s 0-0: Just one minute of stoppage time for what has been a free-flowing half of football. And it comes to an end with Japan deservedly keeping Belgium at bay after 45 minutes of hard work. Belgium have not played badly, mind you, but Japan have been tough to break down, while fashioning chances of their own.
44th minute: Oh wow! Moment of madness, almost, for Courtois. Nagatomo gets a ball into the box from the left flank, Osako gets a touch on it. Courtois tries to gather the ball and presumably in an attempt to release it quickly, doesn’t collect it fully, it rolls underneath his legs and towards goal. Dives back and gathers it on time though. (Replays show Osako might have been offside anyway.)
42nd minute: Nagatomo with a good clearance in the box with Carrasco putting in a dangerous-looking cross. Japan are getting caught out repeatedly by early crosses and Hazard’s directness but their recovery speeds have been fantastic. Good battle.
40th minute: YELLOW CARD for Shibasaki. Every time Hazard has dropped deep and ran at the Japan misfield, the Asians have been under trouble. A little while back there was confusion in the Japanese ranks as Dries Mertens steals the ball and passes it to Hazard, who gets his shot away but it was on the weaker side – passes up a good chance to open the scoring.
38th minute: Lukaku’s presence has been a problem for Japan... Shoji concedes a corner trying to keep the Belgian striker at arm’s length, loses focus on the ball instead. KDB’s delivery, not for the first time, is ordinary.
35th min: End-to-end stuff. Carrasco with a good ball to Mertens in the box but he miscontrols his first touch and Japan clear. Suddenly the counter is on, and Sakai finds Inui with a lovely cross-field pass but Belgium get back in numbers before Osako can do anything with the move.
31st min: BEST JAPAN MOVE! Meunier misreads a long ball down the right and allows Kagawa behind him, he runs at the defence and sets up Nagatomo on the overlap. His cross is met well by Inui but the header is straight at Courtois.
28th min: CHANCE AFTER CHANCE FOR BELGIUM... Hazard fires in a bullet strike from outside the box that is punched away from Kawashima. And Mertens again with an early cross into the box that Yoshida just about clears. Kompany in between all that, with a lovely leap at the far post from a set-piece but his acrobatic cutback evades everyone in the box.
26th min: BIG CHANCE BELGIUM! Dries Mertens with a delightful early cross from the right flank, finds Lukaku few yards away from goal. The striker gets ahead of Yoshida with a show of strength the defender recovers to well to kick the ball away from Lukaku when he gets himself in a bit of a tangle.
23rd min: Hazard is having to drop deep into the middle to receive the ball, but does a good job of injecting some tempo with a turn of pace, finds Meunier who then almost releases Lukaku. The Man Utd striker acknowledges the thinking. A Belgian goal seems imminent.
21st minute: Lukaku makes a nice little darting run to find himself in space, turns and unleashes a right-footed shot at goal. Japanese defender deflects it away for a corner in the nick of time. Belgium on the ascendancy here.
17th minute: Oh wow. Some strength shown by Lukaku there! Meunier heads a cross-field pass back across the penalty area and Lukaku holds off the Japan defenders, turns and gets a shot away. It’s deflected for a corner.
15th minute: The first real counterattack of the night is by... Belgium. Who could have predicted that? After a period of sustained possession, Japan lose the ball high up the pitch but Belgium show off their pace and break quickly... Hazard does well to attract a few defenders toward him and release Mertens. But the move peters out. Soon after, a Belgian corner, which is handled well by Japan.
11th minute: Beautiful-pass-by-KDB alert! He chips one over the defence for Mertens to latch on to, but he as on his heels a bit there before making the run and cannot control the ball at full stretch. Even start to this game.
9th minute: Japan are not just sitting back here like Russia, at least early on, mind you. They are going forward with purpose when on the ball, exploiting the fact that the Belgian wingbacks play very high up. At the other end, Lukaku tees up Mertens outside the box, who could have picked out Carrasco down the left had he looked up, he doesn’t and Japan clear.
6th minute: Hazard runs at the Belgian defence for the first time and is immediately surrounded by defenders. A peek into Japan’s pressing tactics for the night.
4th minute: Belgium control possession early on, building patiently from the back. They look comfortable on ball early on here.
1st minute: Excitement early on! First attempted on goal goes under Shinji Kagawa’s name as he takes a crack at it from distance. His left-footed shot has Courtois diving at full stretch but it’s wide of goal.
11:29 pm: Alright, it’s time. Teams are ready. Are we in for another odd-defying result? Surely not? Let’s find out!
11:24 pm: National anthem time... Belgium first, followed by Japan.
11:22 pm: We cut to live pictures from Rostov-on-Don... kickoff is imminent. Game face on for Lukaku, who must be the red-hot favourite for the golden boot now.
11:17 pm: We saw Belgium’s lineup a while back... here’s how Japan are expected to lineup. After coming in for a lot of criticism for making six changes for the Poland game, the Blue Samurai’s lineup is back to a familiar look.
11:15 pm: Just leaving this here, without any comments.
11:05 pm: Shinji Okazaki has a great record for Japan, netting 50 goals in his 116 appearances, but he again starts on the bench with Osako being preferred. Keisuke Honda, the veteran, is available as a substitute as well.
11:00 pm: The Red Devils are on an unbeaten 22-match run – the longest in Belgium’s history. But they have lost six out of their last seven World Cup knockout games.
Also, worth noting that, plenty of players are a booking away from suspension for the QF:
BELGIUM: Thomas Meunier, Jan Vertonghen, Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans and Leander Dendoncker
JAPAN: Kawashima, Hasebe, Tomoaki Makino and Takashi Inui
10:54 pm: Here’s how Belgium are expected to lineup. Will Hazard and Lukaku continue their rich-scoring form?
(Graphic: @FifaWorldCup)
10:47 pm: Here’s how the bracket looks like after Brazil’s win.
10:40 pm: Belgium playing their best possible XI, not surprisingly.
10:29 pm: Osako is back in the starting lineup after missing out against Poland. Honda and Okazaki start from the bench. No surprises from Belgium.
10:29 pm: For Japan, the big news is that Kagawa is back in the starting lineup.
Here’s another look at the lineups. On paper, there is a clear gulf in class. But football, as they, is not played on paper.
10:38 pm: The big news for Belgium’s point of view is the return of Vincent Kompany to the starting lineup. He appeared as a sub against England. Big boost for Belgium to have their talismanic defender back fit to start.
Belgium
Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen; Thomas Meunier, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco; Eden Hazard (c), Dries Mertens; Romelu Lukaku
Japan
Eiji Kawashima; Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Gen Shoji, Yuto Nagatomo; Makoto Hasebe (c), Gaku Shibasaki; Genki Haraguchi, Shinji Kagawa, Takashi Inui; Yuya Osako
10:20 pm: Who can forget these two teams facing off in the group stages in 2002. The match ended 2-2 and all the goals came in the space of 18 minutes.
HEAD TO HEAD: Matches: 5, Japan wins: 2, Belgium wins: 1, draws: 2
10:10 pm: Only Belgium, Uruguay and Croatia won each of their group games. Lukaku and Hazard have looked in red-hot form and Japan will have their work cut out keeping the deadly duo quiet.
10:00 pm: There is just the small matter of facing Brazil for the side that emerges on top today. No pressure, then.
In case you missed it, Neymar and Co put in a clinical performance against Mexico. Here’s how that match went down.
10:00 pm: Hello all and welcome to The Field’s live blog of the round of 16 encounter between Group G winners and Group H runners-up. Belgium, in red-hot form, take on Japan, who managed to sneak into the knockouts on fair-play record. There will be no prize for getting fewer yellow cards though.
Roberto Martinez’s side defeated England 1-0 in their last outing to top Group G, earning what on paper should be a straightforward last 16 assignment against Japan. But the Red Devils are wary of a possible repeat of their Euro 2016 quarter-final, when they crashed to a 3-1 defeat to Wales despite being favoured to progress.
Japan meanwhile will be aiming to make history by reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. The Blue Samurai have reached the last 16 twice before, in 2002 and 2010, but on each occasion fell at the first hurdle. The Japanese have endured stinging criticism in the aftermath of their final group game, when they ran the clock down in a 1-0 defeat to Poland, squeezing into the knockout rounds to advance at Senegal’s expense by virtue of having picked up fewer yellow cards.
(With AFP inputs)