Thursday , 2 July 2026

Belgium vs Japan, Worldcup 2018 ROUND OF 16

FIFA World Cup · 2018
Belgium
3 – 2
Full Time
Japan
Mon 2 Jul 2018 · 18:00 UTC HT 45' · FT 45'
Y 40' Gaku Shibasaki

Overview

Match Preview

Belgium vs Japan — Worldcup .

  • Belgium 3 games · 5 pts (2026/26)
  • Japan 3 games · 5 pts (2026/26)

Match Details

  • Referee Felix Zwayer
  • Referee Clement Turpin
  • Referee Mark Borsch
  • Referee Danny Makkelie
  • Referee Bakary Papa Gassama
  • Referee Jean-Claude Birumushahu
  • Referee Malang Diedhiou
  • Referee Djibril Camara
  • Referee El Hadji Malick Samba
35 games this season 🟨 1.6/game ⚽ 7.2 goals/game 🟥 1 total

Standings

# Team P Pts
1 Mexico 3 9
2 South Africa 3 4
3 South Korea 3 3
4 Czechia 3 1
5 Switzerland 3 7
6 Canada 3 4
7 Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 4
8 Qatar 3 1
9 Brazil 3 7
10 Morocco 3 7
11 Scotland 3 3
12 Haiti 3 0
13 United States 3 6
14 Australia 3 4
15 Paraguay 3 4
16 Turkey 3 3
17 Germany 3 6
18 Ivory Coast 3 6
19 Ecuador 3 4
20 Curacao 3 1
21 Netherlands 3 7
22 Japan 3 5
23 Sweden 3 4
24 Tunisia 3 0
25 Belgium 3 5
26 Egypt 3 5
27 Iran 3 3
28 New Zealand 3 1
29 Spain 3 7
30 Cape Verde Islands 3 3
31 Uruguay 3 2
32 Saudi Arabia 3 2
33 France 3 9
34 Norway 3 6
35 Senegal 3 3
36 Iraq 3 0
37 Argentina 3 9
38 Austria 3 4
39 Algeria 3 4
40 Jordan 3 0
41 Colombia 3 7
42 Portugal 3 5
43 Congo DR 3 4
44 Uzbekistan 3 0
45 England 3 7
46 Croatia 3 6
47 Ghana 3 4
48 Panama 3 0

Head-to-Head

1
Belgium 1 games · Avg 5.0 goals Japan
Last 5 meetings
2018-07-02 Belgium 3–2 Japan

Recent Form

Belgium
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
02 Jul Japan H 3–2 W
28 Jun England A 1–0 W
23 Jun Tunisia H 5–2 W
18 Jun Panama H 3–0 W
05 May Croatia H 3–0 W
28 Apr Hungary A 1–0 W
Japan
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
02 Jul Belgium A 2–3 L
28 Jun Poland H 0–1 L
24 Jun Senegal H 2–2 D
19 Jun Colombia A 2–1 W
14 May Hertford Town FC H 1–3 L
07 May Dijon Football Cote d'Or A 0–4 L

Season Stats

Belgium Japan
#25 Position #22
5 Points 5
3 Played 3
1 / 2 / 0 W / D / L 1 / 2 / 0
6 Scored 7
2 Conceded 3
+4 GD +4
1.67 PPG 1.67
33% Win % 33%

Key Stats

100% Both Teams to Score
H2H (1 games)
100% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
25% Clean Sheets
Belgium this season
25% Clean Sheets
Japan this season

Belgium are 25th (5 pts). Japan are 22nd (5 pts).

Goal Timing (This Season)

Belgium
0-15
–/–
16-30
1/2
31-45
–/–
46-60
1/1
61-75
1/–
76+
5/1
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Japan
0-15
1/–
16-30
1/–
31-45
1/–
46-60
2/2
61-75
1/2
76+
2/1
■ Scored ■ Conceded

Events

Match Events

  • 0' Welcome to that hosts another battle between Belgium and Japan.
  • 5' The travelling Japan supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
  • 10' We miss some good tackles and strikes. Is there anyone on the field to put the game back to action?
  • 15' Japan started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 15.
  • 20' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
  • 25' It looks like no one’s ball. Japan is used to counterattacking playing. None of the sides are ready to take the lead.
  • 30' Spectators do not have much to choose from both teams. The sides had several scoring chances but they still need a bit more than just a sight of a goal.
  • 35' Japan is showing some good football. However, Japan are ready to play back every minute. It might result in some problems for the home side. The game will hardly remain goalless.
  • 40' Gaku Shibasaki was booked on 40.
  • 45' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. Belgium needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
  • 48' Genki Haraguchi puts Japan on the lead.
  • 52' GOAL! Takashi Inui scores on 52. Assisted by Shinji Kagawa
  • 57' Belgium seems to be on a short break. The game is mainly concentrated in the center. It’s high time they got back to action. Otherwise, it looks like a goalless game.
  • 62' Kevin De Bruyne has certainly something to prove this evening. He made 20 appearances with only 1 goals this season.
  • 65' Belgium manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Marouane Fellaini is hanging Dries Mertens on the field on 65 minute.
  • 69' Goal! Jan Vertonghen scores his 14 goal in 385 matches.
  • 74' What a strike from Marouane Fellaini! The score is 2-2.
  • 79' Supporters expect more eagerness from Eden Hazard, as he is very good at scoring at with 0 goals in the last 0 games.
  • 81' Another substitution for Japan to replace Gaku Shibasaki by Hotaru Yamaguchi on 81 minute.
  • 86' It’s high time Roberto Martínez made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
  • 90' What a strike from Nacer Chadli! The score is 3-2.
  • The final score is 3-2.

Lineups

Belgium Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Roberto Martínez

Japan Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Akira Nishino

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
3 / 4
2.35 Belgium xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.34 Japan xG
I would bet for: Over 2.5 goals 70% + Both teams to score 66%

Match Result

✓ Correct
Belgium61% Draw21% Japan18%
Actual: Belgium win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes66% 0% No34%
Avg goals/match: 3.69
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 96%
4%
± 1.5 88%
12%
± 2.5 70%
30%
± 3.5 50%
50%
± 4.5 31%
69%

Double Chance

Belgium or Draw
81%
Draw or Japan
39%
Belgium or Japan
79%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Belgium44% Draw38% Japan18%
Actual: Draw at HT

Correct Score

✓ In top 12
2 – 1
9%
1 – 1
8.7%
2 – 0
7%
3 – 1
6.9%
2 – 2
5.9%
1 – 0
5.5%
3 – 0
5.3%
1 – 2
5.1%
3 – 2
Actual
4 – 1
4.1%
0 – 0
3.7%
4 – 0
3.1%

Asian Handicap — Belgium

Handicap Belgium covers Push Japan covers
-2.5 21% — 79%
-2 21% 17% 62%
-1.5 38% — 62%
-1 38% 21% 41%
-0.5 59% — 41%
+0.5 80% — 20%
+1 80% 12% 9%
+1.5 91% — 9%
+2 91% 6% 3%
+2.5 97% — 3%

Clean Sheet

Belgium keeps clean sheet
27% ✓
Japan keeps clean sheet
10% ✓

Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.