Billed as the final before the final, the Brazil versus Belgium contest on Friday night promises to be one of the best matches of the World Cup.

From the edge of defeat, Belgium bounced back in the dying stages of their round of 16 match to knockout a spirited Japanese side. But to get past Brazil – one of the biggest favourites to the title – the Belgians know, will be far harder.

“It’s a dream match for our players,” their coach Roberto Martinez said ahead of the quarter-final clash. “There won’t be many secrets to the game. We have to defend as well as we can and then punish them when we have the ball. It’s that simple, and this team is ready for that.”

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But is it that simple, though, to get past a solid defence and hold off Gabriel Jesus, Neymar, Coutinho and Paulinho? We’ll have to wait and watch.

For now, let’s look at the teams’ history and some interesting numbers.

Head to head

TEAMS MATCHES PLAYED WIN/LOSS GOALS FOR/AGAINST
Brazil 4 3/1 10/6
Belgium 4 1/3 6/10

More numbers

  • Brazil have qualified for the quarter-finals in every edition since 1994. There have already been four showdowns between the pair and Brazil won three, after Belgium prevailed 5-1 in the first one, a friendly held in Brussels in 1963.
  • The teams’ last tussle in 2002 was also their only prior engagement in the Fifa World Cup, with A Canarinho triumphing 2-0 in the Round of 16 in Kobe, thanks to second-half strikes from Rivaldo and Ronaldo. 
  • With their two goals against Mexico taking their tally up to 228, Brazil return to the top of the World Cup’s all-time scoring chart ahead of Germany, who exited this year’s tournament on 226. 
  • Brazil enter this game on the back of three straight victories (all by the scoreline of 2-0) and have played 310 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.
  • Meanwhile, Belgium are themselves on a four-match winning streak that equals their longest run established in 2014. 
  • Brazil have been taken beyond 90 minutes seven times in the World Cup. In the three matches that were decided in extra time, their record stands at one victory and two draws (in 1938 and 1954, before the introduction of penalties). A Canarinho have performed similarly well in penalty shoot-outs, with three wins (including in the 1994 Final) and one defeat.
  • This is the first time that Belgium have reached the quarter-finals in back-to-back World Cups.
  • The Red Devils have featured in five World Cup games that were decided in extra time, winning two, losing two and drawing one (with England in 1954, before penalty shoot-outs were introduced). They have been involved in only one spot-kick duel, outsmarting Spain in the 1986 quarter-finals.
  • Brazil are contesting a World Cup fixture on 6 July for the second time, after losing the Play-Off for Third Place 1-0 to Poland on this day in 1974. 
  • Belgium have a poor record in seven World Cup encounters with South American opponents, having mustered two wins, one draw and four defeats, including consecutive losses in the last two meetings, against Brazil in the Round of 16 in 2002 (2-0) and Argentina in the 2014 quarter-finals (1-0). The Red Devils’ two victories finished 1-0 over Argentina in 1982 and 3-1 against Uruguay in 1990.            

Stats courtesy Fifa.com