Belgium Lights Second-Half Afterburners, Blasts Past Japan

When those dudes get serious, they're serious.

For more than an hour, this match looked like Exhibit A in a case study of talent trouncing tactics.

Samurai Blue manager Akira Nishino, universally scorched for the negative tactics that put his side in the Round of 16, was 20 minutes or so from being hailed as a genius for bringing down a superb collection of skilled athletes being hailed as their nation's golden generation.

It might've happened, but then, Belgium realized who and where they were.

 

Just like that, viewers and spectators looking on in Rostov, must've figured they were seeing football's version of Dr Jekyll becoming Mr Hyde.

The tenacity of Nishino's high-press that had stifled the Red Devils for most of the match suddendly meant nothing. Belgium roared from a two-goal deficit to cap their comeback in literally the last few seconds to subdue a dazed Japanese squad, 3-2.

 

Frankly, the way the match started, it was the Belgians wondering what hit them.

Dudes were finding a lot of difficulties to get into a good position to open the scoring. They didn't handle Japan's strategy well at all, and the Samurai Blue spent the first 45 waiting for a moment that just didn't come.

It was a different story after the intermission. Surprisingly, the Red Devils were still flummoxed, and it was the Japanese who struck. Twice.

 

The first came in the 48th minute. Genki Haraguchi took a nifty pass and sent it into the bottom corner ...

 

... and just four minutes later, Takashi Inui's thunderbolt from outside of the box beat Thibaut Courtois:

Eden Hazard believed his crew was past their Wales moment in the 2016 European championships, and it was time to prove it.

Not like they needed any affirmations or anything, but under the circumstances ...

 

The Belgian response finally came in the 69th minute when Jan Vertonghen attempted a header inside of the Japanese area.

Funny thing about headers, though:

 

Maybe that bitta luck loosened the dudes up.

It also seemed to remind the Red Devils that they had a significant height advantage on Japan. Nothing like an amazing grasp of the obvious, but better late than never, and it immediately came into play.

Five minutes later, substitute Marouane Fellaini put Belgium back on level terms with -- what else? -- a firm header, assisted by Hazard.

 

Fellaini's game is an acquired taste, but manager Roberto Martínez clearly knew when and where it'd fit into the run of play.

As if the aerial attack couldn't have been deployed from the first minute, but there it is.

 

After the equalizer, the game's pace slowed. The referee indicated four minutes of additional time, and when Japan earned a corner with 20 seconds to go, Courtois' resultant quick pass to Kevin De Bruyne caught the Samurai Blue off-guard and ignited a lethal counterattack.

It ended up with Nacer Chadli staring into an entire landscape of open net with Eiji Kawashima left to cover 'way too much territory.

 

That sorta shock-&-awe comeback probably sobered up the entire bracket.

As to a stunned set of Japanese players, it could be they're still wondering what hit them.

 

Until then, back to the drawing boad and the comforts of home.

Dudes had a good run in Russia.