Belgium have looked like a dark horse that morphed into among the favorites to win the World Cup this year, thanks to their astounding play in the group stage. Will their magic continue to the quarterfinals by beating Japan in the round of 16? Or will the Samurai Blue trip Romelu Lukaku and company up, providing one of the biggest shocks of the tourney?
Belgium have been blowing their opponents out of the water thus far in the tournament. They went unbeaten with a 3-0-0 slate in the group state, scoring nine goals and conceding just two in those three matches. In their last match, the Red Devils got away with a 1-0 win over England on Thursday. With a spot in the next round assured for Belgium even before they took on England, the Belgians opted to rest Manchester United star forward Romelu Lukaku in their concluding match in the group stage. Had he played, Lukaku would probably have found a way to score, as he had scored a brace in each of his team’s first match in Russia. Lukaku isn’t the only one making Belgium’s attack tick, though. Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City in the Premiere League is also doing a magnificent job of directing traffic on the attack for the Red Devils.
Betting on Japan (+700)
Despite picking up a 1-0 loss against Poland to end their group stage campaign, Japan earned a passage into the round of 16 thanks to Senegal losing to Colombia. Japan have been a mild surprise so far in the tournament, as they are not expected to progress this far in Russia, but boosted their morale with a 2-1 win over Colombia in the opener before drawing with Senegal in the following match. Japan could be considered lucky to have gone this deep at the World Cup as they have won only three of their last 10 matches. It’s going to be tough for them to get past the round of 16 against a stacked team like Belgium, who have better talent overall. However, Japan have shown some creativity on the attack and their opportunistic nature make Samurai Blue a constant threat to find the back of the net.
Writer’s Prediction
While it would be a blast to see Japan pull this off and head to the QFs, Belgium will send Japan home with a 2-0 win.
