World Cup warm up: Can Japan contain Belgium’s golden generation?
We are now more than halfway through the round of 16 matches at the 2018 World Cup and they have not been short of drama. Russia eliminated Spain on penalties, while Croatia also overcame adversity to knock out Denmark. Japan will hope to draw inspiration from the hosts when they face Belgium on Monday night, but face a monumental task downing the Red Devils.
Japan secured an unlikely second place finish in Group H, joining Colombia through to the next phase of the tournament at the expense of Poland and Senegal. Akira Nishino made a huge gamble handing first starts of the tournament to six players in their final group game, which ended in a farcical 1-0 defeat to Poland, but they managed to qualify in second by the skin of their teeth. Japan finished level on points with Senegal, but claimed a top two finish due to the fact they received two fewer yellow cards than the Lions of Teranga.
The Samurai Blue have now participated in each of the last six World Cups and will attempt to make history against Belgium by reaching the quarter-final stage, having never made it further than the round of 16 prior to this summer. Belgium have a 100 per cent record heading into Monday’s clash after piping England to first place in Group G with a 1-0 win over the Three Lions. Belgium have not completely convinced but have looked hugely impressive in patches.
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With the likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne through the middle, it will take something special to prevent Belgium from finding the back of the net. Given Japan conceded twice to a Senegal side that generally looked quite poor in the final third, their chances of succeeding appear slim.
Lukaku is currently on a phenomenal goalscoring run for his country, netting braces in each of his last three appearances. The Manchester United striker has scored 17 goals in his last 11 outings for Belgium and will hope to catch Harry Kane in the race to finish as this summer’s Golden Boot winner.
The 25-year-old is unplayable on his day and Japan will do well to stop the hulking forward in Rostov. Even if Japan are successful in restricting Lukaku’s involvement, they will still have to deal with Hazard and De Bruyne. Not only that, but now Martinez has Vincent Kompany available again and that will only make Belgium’s defence harder to penetrate.
The fact that Russia have already pulled off a shock and eliminated Spain should at least give Japan some confidence ahead of their meeting with Belgium, but they failed to demonstrate in the group stage they have what is required to be victorious.
