The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup round of 16 fixture between Belgium and Japan. The game kicks off on the 3rd of July at 4:00 AM AEST. It will be broadcast live on SBS.
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Belgium
- FIFA World Rank: 3
- Elo Rating: 8
- Qualifying: Won Group H with a 9-1-0 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification.
Squad:
- Coach: Roberto Martínez (Spain)
- Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg)
- Defenders: Toby Alderweireld Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Thomas Meunier (PSG)
- Midfielders: Youri Tielemans (AS Monaco), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Monchengladbach), Dries Mertens (Na
- Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid)
Recent results:
- England 0 – 1 Belgium
28/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Belgium 5 – 2 Tunisia
23/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Belgium 3 – 0 Panama
18/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Belgium 4 – 1 Costa Rica
11/06/2018
Friendly, played in Belgium - Belgium 3 – 0 Egypt
06/06/2018
Friendly, played in Belgium - Belgium 0 – 0 Portugal
02/06/2018
Friendly, played in Belgium - Belgium 4 – 0 Saudi Arabia
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Belgium - Belgium 1 – 0 Japan
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in Belgium - Belgium 3 – 3 Mexico
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in Belgium - Belgium 4 – 0 Cyprus
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Belgium - Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 – 4 Belgium
07/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Bosnia-Herzegovina - Greece 1 – 2 Belgium
03/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Greece
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 33-8-6
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 45-2
- O/U 1.5 record: 38-9
- O/U 2.5 record: 30-17
- O/U 3.5 record: 22-25
- O/U 4.5 record: 13-34
- O/U 5.5 record: 9-38
- Wins
- Total wins: 33
- Won by 1 goal: 11
- Won by 2 goals: 6
- Won by 3 goals: 7
- Won by 4 goals: 4
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 4
- Won to nil 19
- Losses
- Total losses: 6
- Lost by 1 goal: 3
- Lost by 2 goals: 3
- Lost by 3 goals: 0
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 4
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 47
- Clean Sheets: 21
- Held Scoreless: 6
- Both Teams Scored: 22
Japan
- FIFA World Rank: 61
- Elo Rating: 46
- Qualifying: Winner of Group B with a 6-2-2 record in the AFC Third Round.
Squad:
- Coach: Akira Nishino
- Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Metz), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka), Kosuke Nakamura (Kashiwa Reysol)
- Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo (Galatasaray), Tomoaki Makino (Urawa Reds), Wataru Endo (Urawa Reds), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Sakai (Marseille), Gotoku Sakai (Hamburg), Gen Shoji (Kashima Antlers), Naomichi Ueda (Kashima Antlers)
- Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Keisuke Honda (Pachuca), Takashi Inui (Eibar), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Genki Haraguchi (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Takashi Usami (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe), Ryot
- Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Leicester), Yuya Osako (Werder Bremen), Yoshinori Muto (Mainz)
Recent results:
- Japan 0 – 1 Poland
28/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Japan 2 – 2 Senegal
24/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Colombia 1 – 2 Japan
19/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Japan 4 – 2 Paraguay
12/06/2018
Friendly, played in Austria - Switzerland 2 – 0 Japan
08/06/2018
Friendly, played in Switzerland - Japan 0 – 2 Ghana
30/05/2018
Friendly, played in Japan - Ukraine 2 – 1 Japan
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Belgium - Japan 1 – 1 Mali
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in Belgium - Japan 1 – 4 South Korea
16/12/2017
EAFF Championship, played in Japan - Japan 2 – 1 China
12/12/2017
EAFF Championship, played in Japan - Japan 1 – 0 Korea DPR
09/12/2017
EAFF Championship, played in Japan - Belgium 1 – 0 Japan
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in Belgium
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 29-12-13
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 53-1
- O/U 1.5 record: 47-7
- O/U 2.5 record: 30-24
- O/U 3.5 record: 17-37
- O/U 4.5 record: 9-45
- O/U 5.5 record: 6-48
- Wins
- Total wins: 29
- Won by 1 goal: 9
- Won by 2 goals: 7
- Won by 3 goals: 3
- Won by 4 goals: 5
- Won by 5 goals: 3
- Won by 5+ goals: 2
- Won to nil 20
- Losses
- Total losses: 13
- Lost by 1 goal: 7
- Lost by 2 goals: 4
- Lost by 3 goals: 1
- Lost by 4 goals: 1
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 7
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 54
- Clean Sheets: 21
- Held Scoreless: 8
- Both Teams Scored: 26
Commentary
Belgium coasted into the Round of 16 with a game to spare, following a comfortable 3-0 win over Panama and 5-2 win over Tunisia. Both Belgium and England made numerous changes to their squads for their final clash, which Belgium won 1-0. Ignoring their clash against England, which featured a second-string team, Belgium have been a goal-scoring machine. They averaged 4.3 goals during qualifying and scored 11 times during their 4 friendlies. No other team scored more goals during the group stage than Belgium with 9. Belgium are possibly the best team in the world at the moment at dispatching weaker opponents, which is bad news for Japan. In team news, Romelu Lukaku is again fit after missing the England game with an ankle issue. Thomas Vermaelen and Vincent Kompany are also fit. Adnan Januzaj is a minor doubt after picking up a knock in training.
Japan have been one of the surprises of the tournament after they reached the Round of 16 at the expense of the more fancied Senegal and Poland. They commenced their campaign with a shock 2-1 win over Colombia, who had a man sent off and conceded a penalty in the 3rd minute. Japan then showed good character to come from behind twice to draw Senegal 2-2. Japan then lost their final fixture 1-0 to Poland, but advanced to the knockout stage on the back of a superior fair play standing compared to Senegal. Japan had been a crowd favourite for their work ethic and clean brand of football, but they lost a few fans with their overly cautious approach against Poland once they knew what was required to progress. Under coach Akira Nishino, who only took over in April, Japan have steadily found their feet, but there has been an element of good fortune in their results. In team news, striker Shinji Okazaki is in doubt with an ankle injury.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Belgium vs. Japan
Belgium bring a 22-game unbeaten streak (17-5-0 record) into this fixture while Japan have failed to score in 5 of their last 6 World Cup games against European opponents, going 1-2-3. Japan have a strong 2-2-1 head-to-head record against Belgium, but their only defeat came in their most recent meeting in 2017. Belgium have a terrible 2-1-8 record in the knockouts of a World Cup, with not a single clean sheet, but the current side is arguably the best in Belgian history.
Belgium have made a habit of scoring 3+ goals per game, while and Japan have conceded twice in five of their last seven games. Of Belgium’s 33 wins over the last four years, 22 were by 2+ goals. Three of Japan’s last five defeats were by 2+ goals, and none were to opponents as strong as Belgium.
Betting tip: back Belgium -1.0 in the Asian handicap at 1.63 (Betfair)
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more
Belgium will have a refreshed side to choose from as they face Japan in the World Cup round of 16 in Rostov on Monday night.