Belgium broke Japanese hearts with a winner in the dying moments of the World Cup quarter-final at Rostov Arena on Monday night.
Goals from Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini cancelled out efforts from Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui as the game looked to be heading for extra-time at 2-2.
However, from a corner kick for Japan, Belgium broke forward at pace and Nacer Chadli grabbed a dramatic winner.
Here, we rate the Belgium players.
STARTING XI
Eiji Kawashima – Had a few routine saves to make in the first half. Was made to look a bit silly by a freak goal from Vertonghen. Responded with a couple of fine saves against Nacer Chadli and Romelu Lukaku. 7
Hiroki Sakai – Won his fair share of duels in the air and had some good forays forward. Struggled to deal with Eden Hazard though. 5
Maya Yoshida – Made several crucial interventions, denying Lukaku time after time. Made a remarkable 14 clearances in the game. 7
Gen Shoji – Didn’t do too much wrong and allowed Yoshida to pick up Lukaku more often than not. 5
Yuto Nagatomo – Got forward when possible and delivered a superb cross in for Japan’s best chance of the first half. Was his drilled ball that saw Thibaut Courtois fumble. 6
Gaku Shibasaki – Clumsy challenge on Hazard earned him an early booking. Played a sublime through ball to for Haraguchi to score the opener. 6
Makoto Hasebe – Had no chance against Fellaini as the Manchester United player powered home the equaliser. Good in possession and played a few diagonals but few piercing passes. 5
Genki Haraguchi – Took his goal excellently with a slight feint to get a bit more space before arrowing it into the far corner. 6
Shinji Kagawa – Was largely a peripheral figure in the first half but came to life on occasion with a few classy touches and passes. Beautiful play on the edge of the box before laying it off for Inui to score. 6
Takashi Inui – Scored a sensational goal with a strike from distance. Was always a threat going forward. His diagonal runs inside caused problems. Was consistently the main man in attack for Japan and the most likely to do the damage. 7
Yuya Osako – Put in a shift as the lone striker and chased down every ball but little goal-mouth action to speak off. 5
SUBS
Hotaru Yamaguchi – Replaced Shibasaki in the final 10 minutes and couldn’t make an impact. N/A
Keisuke Honda – Had a good shot from range he would’ve preferred to have skied as Belgium countered from the resulting corner and snatched victory. N/A
