Belgium vs Japan

Belgium- After a few disappointing tournaments over the past few years, Belgium’s “golden generation” seems to be ready to make a run deep into this World Cup. After scoring eight goals in their first two matches, Belgium and England chose to rest a number of starters resulting in a 1-0 Belgium victory. Their starting eleven is strong, with Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Manchester City fullback Vincent Kompany, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and strikers Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku leading the squad. This is a team that is exciting to watch.

Japan- After sacking manager Vahid Halilhodzic just prior to the start of the World Cup, not much was expected from the Samurai Blue in this tournament. But interim head coach Akiro Nishino has held the team together with the support of the veterans on the squad. Opening with a 2-1 win over Colombia, they played Senegal to a 2-2 draw before falling to Poland 1-0 in their final group match. They are the first team in the tournament to advance beyond the Group Stage by the “fair play” tiebreaker, having accumulated less cards than 3rd place Senegal. Japan is led by Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa and Leicester City striker Shinji Okazaki, who will be looked upon for more firepower if the team is to advance through the knockout stages of Cup play.

Prediction- Japan will give it their all, but it’s hard to see how they can compete competitively against the Red Devils. At the end of the day, look for Belgium to advance to the next round with a 3-0 win over Japan.