HEAVEN AND BEL
BELGIUM 3 JAPAN 2:
ROBERTO MARTINEZ’S World Cup dream was dramatically saved by an inspired double substitution.
The Belgium manager sent on Premier League misfits Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli midway through the second half with his side 2-0 down and going
NACER CHADLI’S last-gasp winner broke Japan’s hearts and sent Belgium into a quarter-final showdown with Brazil.
The underdogs stunned Roberto Martinez’s team with two goals in four minutes, at the start of the second half, from Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui. But Jan Vertonghen and substitute Marouane Fellaini pulled Belgium level, before fellow sub Chadli grabbed a remarkable winner with just 15 seconds left in stoppage time.
The all-important goal came seconds after
Thibaut Courtois had saved a Keisuke Honda free-kick which almost won the game for Japan.
But instead Courtois rolled the ball out to Kevin De Bruyne, who ran half the length of the field to set up a move which ended with Chadli sweeping home at the far post, after a sublime dummy from Romelu Lukaku. In a World Cup of great games and cliff-edge drama, this may have been the best of the lot.
Akira Nishino’s side pressed high right from the start and held their opponents at 0-0 until half-time. Belgium – who made 10 changes from the side that beat England – dominated possession with Eden Hazard (left) lively and De Bruyne directing play. But they couldn’t find the finishing touch. Instead, they were almost made to pay just before the break when Yuto Nagatomo, who had been excellent in defence, suddenly found himself in the Belgium
penalty box. His shot was half-blocked but caught Courtois napping – and the Chelsea man only just stopped it trickling over the line at the second attempt.
That should have been a wake-up call, but instead Belgium conceded a shock opener on the break after 48 minutes.
The Japanese worked the ball superbly to Haraguchi, who was free down the right. He kept his cool as he stopped in his tracks, took a breath and calmly beat Courtois.
The whole stadium was in shock but there was more to come.
First Hazard thumped a shot against the woodwork as Belgium almost equalised immediately. And then Inui fired home a second goal, his superb shot from outside the box beating Courtois all ends up for 2-0 on 52 minutes.
The only consolation for Belgium was they had time to recover and the firepower to work with – and Fellaini to call on.
They grabbed a goal back when keeper Eiji Kawashima failed to clear his lines and Vertonghen looped a header into the net for 2-1.
Then, astonishingly, sub Fellaini thumped home a header for 2-2.
Extra time loomed, but Belgium had one last chance in a lightningfast counter – and Chadli sent them into the last eight.