Belgium 3-2 Japan: Three things Japan got wrong

#1 Japan’s lack of creativity hamper them after losing their lead

Osako is not a prolific striker

From the outset, it was evident that if Japan were going to cause an upset, they were going to need a favour or two from their opponents. Which is exactly what transpired. A couple of defensive lapses gave Japan an unlikely two-goal lead, first by Vertonghen who should have cut off a Gaku Shibasaki through-pass to Haraguchi followed by captain Vincent Kompany, whose weak header went straight to Shinji Kagawa, who laid the ball perfectly for Inui to attempt a long-range shot.

But Japan could not get over the top of themselves. They are not the most creative side in the World Cup – their forward Yuya Osako has scored just 8 times in 30 appearances and has netted a mere 15 times in 4 seasons for FC Koln in the Bundesliga. So if Belgium were to stage a comeback – they were always bound to do so looking at the quality of their attack as well as their bench – it would be tactically and mentally difficult for Japan to regain the confidence to earn a lead in the game again. They had just 4 shots on target the entire game, so carving out chances was not their strength.

The lack of a killer pass or a quality cross one could easily associate with a Belgian side would find Japan out later in the game and that was exactly what transpired once the Europeans made it 2-2. The momentum, along with whatever limited creativity Japan possessed, was gone and once the third goal went in, time had gone as well.