World Cup 2018: Revisiting the classic Belgium vs Japan matchup

With a squad mostly containing players from Europe's elite clubs, Belgium were labelled as outside favourites to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Having easily navigated through the group stages, they faced their next challenge - Japan. The Samurai Blue came into the tournament ranked 61st in the world, behind the likes of Panama, Morocco, and Iceland. Their head coach Akira Nishino was appointed just 2 months before the start of the world cup, after the sacking of Vahid Halilhodzic.

Despite losing their final group stage game to Poland, a game in which Nishino surprisingly opted to rest some of their key players, Japan managed to finish above Senegal and reach the round of 16 by virtue of their superior disciplinary record. They became the only Asian team to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Despite the number of experienced players in their squad, Japan were the clear underdogs in this knockout stage tie. Very few people had expected them to go beyond the group stages, and even fewer thought that they would cause any problems for Belgium. But none of those people would have anticipated the dramatic turn of events in store at the Rostov Arena that night.

After a scoreless and largely unimaginative first 45 minutes, the game burst into life three minutes into the second half. Midfielder Genki Haraguchi latched on to a through ball in behind the Belgian defensive line. The deftest of fakes bought him an extra half yard of space in the penalty area, and when it mattered most, he was able to find the back of the net with a quality finish that most strikers would be proud of.

The Samurai Blue had taken the lead. It could have proven to be extremely short-lived though. Almost immediately after play restarted, Eden Hazard hit the post after a fine move by Belgium. Japan seemed to have woken the beast. With the likes of Lukaku, De Bruyne, and Hazard on the pitch, a comeback seemed imminent. After all, these are players who have the ability to single-handedly turn a game on its head.

But, in the 52nd minute, the unthinkable happened. Takashi Inui, arguably Japan's best player at the World Cup, produced a moment of magic. After an excellent first touch to get the ball out from under his feet, he let it rip from 25 yards out. It almost took the Belgian defence by surprise, since there weren't any desperate attempts to close him down. And even at full stretch, the six and a half feet tall frame of Thibaut Courtois stood no chance when it came to saving that incredible effort.

Despair for Courtois as Japan doubled their lead through Inui

The Belgian players looked around at each other in a state of shock. Japan, a country that had never won a round of 16 game at the FIFA World Cup, was leading 2-0 against their golden generation. The cat had indeed been set loose among the pigeons. For Belgium, this was deja vu all over again. Bitter memories of their EURO 2016 quarterfinal defeat to Wales were resurfacing.

Almost exactly 2 years after that fateful night in Lille, Belgium again found itself on the brink of elimination from a major tournament. Despite the wealth of attacking talent that they had at their disposal, they had failed to break down a well organized and resolute Japanese defence. They were in desperate need of some inspiration. And that inspiration came from an unlikely source.

After an errant clearance from Inui while defending a corner, Vertonghen found the back of the net with an extraordinary looping header. The flight of the ball ensured that a scrambling Eiji Kawashima could do nothing to prevent it from crossing the line. This was the stroke of luck that the Red Devils needed.

Almost inevitably, five minutes later, they equalized through substitute Marouane Fellaini. Hazard executed a clever turn to slip away from Yuya Osako and produced a fine left-footed cross into the penalty area. Fellaini towered above Japan's captain Makoto Hasebe to head the ball into the back of the net.

Under adverse circumstances, Belgium had found a way to turn this game on its head. They now had 15 minutes to find the winner against a shell-shocked and tiring Japan side. Having been less than half an hour away from the biggest win in their history, they now found themselves on the ropes against a team which seemed to have found a higher gear.

The aspirations of an entire continent hung in the balance. To their credit, the Japanese seemed to regain their composure after Belgium's second goal. At risk of total capitulation after conceding the second goal, they managed to keep themselves in the game despite the relentless pressure being put on them.

With three out of four stoppage-time minutes played, Japan won a corner. At this point, one would have been forgiven for thinking that they had done enough to take this game into extra time. Instead of keeping the ball in the corner, Keisuke Honda swung it into the penalty area. Courtois caught the ball cleanly, and immediately looked to find options. He released it to Kevin De Bruyne, who found himself running across acres of empty space towards the opposite half of the field. Japan had overcommitted.

With runners on either side of him, De Bruyne executed a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Thomas Meunier. Without breaking stride, Meunier slid the ball across the penalty area towards Lukaku, who was closely marked by Hasebe. The striker exhibited remarkable footballing intelligence to let the ball roll beyond him to an onrushing Nacer Chadli, who found the winning goal.

Belgium had broken Japanese hearts with a devastating counterattack, seventeen seconds before the final whistle. It would not be a surprise if Lukaku's role in this goal were to be shown to aspiring strikers all over the world for years to come. Even though he did not touch the ball throughout the move, the striker was instrumental in its success.

His run from the right wing towards the penalty area dragged Nagatomo with him and created space for Meunier to run into. And in a situation where most strikers would have gone for goal themselves, he had the presence of mind to leave the ball for a teammate who was in a better position.

In the closing stages of the game against Poland, Nishino had instructed his players to play it safe and not go for an equalizer, knowing that if the score stayed the same, they would go through to the knockout stages on the basis of the fair play rule. He later went on to publicly admit that he was ashamed of this decision.

This extraordinary football match now had the climax that it deserved. Roberto Martinez's tactical switch to a more direct approach had yielded its reward. The second half substitutes Fellaini and Chadli proved to be the unlikely match winners. For Japan, this was a bitter pill to swallow. Their world cup journey was over. But they didn't leave without winning millions of hearts all over the world.

Despite the odds being stacked against them, Japan went toe-to-toe with a European heavyweight and almost pulled off a remarkable upset. And with less than a minute left to force the game into extra time, they decided to send players forward and try to find a late winner instead of playing a short corner and retaining possession.

Was it a lack of good judgement that drove Japan to pursue a winner deep into stoppage time against a superior opposition, or was it the quest for redemption after exhibiting unsporting behaviour in their previous game? Either way, Japan stole something from football in that game against Poland. They returned it against Belgium and ended up paying the ultimate price for it.