SoccerBy Joe Lucia on

A whole lot of crazy shit happened in Belgium’s 3-2 win over Japan on Monday.

The underdogs from Japan took a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute through Genki Haraguchi on the counterattack.

They doubled their lead shortly thereafter in the 52nd minute through Takashi Inui and an absolute missile off his foot.

Ten minutes later, Belgium manager Roberto Martinez made a pair of subs that would prove pivotal later on, bringing on Maroune Fellaini and Nacer Chadli for Dries Mertens and Yannick Carrasco.

Minutes later, a looping header from Jan Vertonghen that had no legitimate reason for being a scoring chance ended up in the back of the net, halving Japan’s lead to 2-1.

In the 74th minute, the sub Fellaini struck, scoring a header off a cross from Eden Hazard.

Japan nearly won it with a laser by sub Keisuke Honda that was saved by Belgium goalkeeper Thibault Courtois. After a Japan corner went nowhere quickly, Courtois started a counter spurred on by Kevin De Bruyne, who passed to Thomas Meunier on the right hand side. Meunier passed back to the middle, where Chadli was waiting to tap the ball home and break Japan’s hearts.

What a game. It’s an incredible win for Belgium, who dominated the game and shouldn’t have had to leave it so late for Chadli to win it at the death. As for Japan, it’s a painful defeat, especially given how well they had acquainted themselves early in the second half to stake the 2-0 lead.

Next up, Belgium will take on Brazil in the quarterfinals on Friday at 2 PM PST, with the winner advancing to the semifinals and a date with either Uruguay or France.

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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