Wednesday , 30 September 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
10 games this season 🟨 4.3/game ⚽ 13.5 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
17% 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
1/–
16-30
1/3
31-45
2/1
46-60
2/1
61-75
1/–
76+
6/2
■ 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

Top Scorers (This Season)

Belgium
Romelu Lukaku 3 G 1 A
Charles De Ketelaere 3 G 1 A
Leandro Trossard 2 G 2 A
Youri Tielemans 2 G
Japan
Ayase Ueda 2 G 1 A
Daichi Kamada 2 G

Events

Match Events

  • 0' The ball is rolling at . Belgium are looking to make home advantage count against Japan.
  • 5' A moment of individual brilliance could settle this. Both teams are waiting for that decisive action.
  • 10' The teams are not in a rush to score plenty of goals. It might look strange considering Belgium that had 123 games and scored 52 goals.
  • 15' 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.
  • 20' Players seem to put ease on their energy level Spectators hardly appreciate such approach. Teams need to speed up the tempo.
  • 25' Japan 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.
  • 30' A quiet spell here at . Belgium seem content sitting deep and soaking up pressure.
  • 35' A tactical chess match is unfolding here. The question is which manager blinks first.
  • 40' A meaty challenge results in booking for Gaku Shibasaki on 40.
  • 45' Yuto Nagatomo is a natural and has been asked to do a very specific job for Japan tonight.
  • 48' Genki Haraguchi does the damage! The net is bulging and Japan surge ahead!
  • 52' Takashi Inui has been a constant threat and now delivers with a goal on 52 minutes.
  • 57' The referee has had an easy afternoon — neither side has been overly physical in the tackle.
  • 62' Japan started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 62.
  • 65' Another substitution for Belgium to replace Dries Mertens by Marouane Fellaini on 65 minute.
  • 69' GOAL! Jan Vertonghen scores on 69.
  • 74' What a strike from Marouane Fellaini! The score is 2-2.
  • 79' The 35-year-old Eden Hazard has been sensational this season — 0 goals and 0 assists is a remarkable return.
  • 81' Japan manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Hotaru Yamaguchi is hanging Gaku Shibasaki on the field on 81 minute.
  • 86' Yannick Carrasco has been relatively quiet despite scoring 27 goals in his last 123 appearances.
  • 90' Assisted by Thomas Meunier with the perfectly-timed delivery and Nacer Chadli makes no mistake. 3-2!
  • Another three points for Belgium.

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.