Belgium's dramatic Japan win is perfect preparation for Brazil quarter-final, says Eden Hazard

EPA
Chris Hatherall3 July 2018

Eden Hazard believes his team’s remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to beat Japan here last night was perfect preparation for their quarter-final against Brazil on Friday.

It was not how Roberto Martinez’s team had planned it — conceding goals to Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui — but the way they responded to secure a dramatic victory has reignited hopes that Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ may be ready to make their mark at last.

The recovery had a London feel about it, too. Chelsea star Hazard drove his team forward before Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen looped home the header which gave Belgium hope.

Marouane Fellaini, whose appearance from the bench helped turn around his team’s fortunes, headed the equaliser before former Spurs winger Nacer Chadli swept home in the fourth minute of injury time, following a clinical break started by Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois that went the length of the field.

In Pictures | Belgium vs Japan, World Cup | 02/07/2018

1/46

Courtois had performed an even more vital task just seconds before, making a fine save from a Keisuke Honda free-kick to deny Japan.

“It’s true, we were rocking,” said Belgium captain Hazard. “We eventually earned the victory, but hopefully this will not happen against Brazil.

“But I think this performance is a boost rather than one which increases the doubts. It is the first time that I have experienced such a turnaround as a Red Devil. In the past, either it was too easy or we lost. Now we have gone behind and yet won. We know we can do it.

“We have to be proud we won. We knew we did not have much time and suddenly that defeat against Wales at Euro 2016 comes back in your head. But you also know that everything can still change with a goal. That happened, thanks to Jan and a bit of luck.

“Maybe it’s this kind of match we needed for our belief. We could have been eliminated but we got through.

“Now the next match is going to be magnificent because playing against Brazil is always amazing. We can go and rest now and prepare well — and we want to win it.”

Manchester United midfielder Fellaini came to a similar conclusion. “We will have to raise our level against Brazil, but there are no favourites in this tournament,” he said. “We have seen how so-called outsiders manage to win.”

Manager Martinez already has a plan for Brazil, most likely asking his team to focus more on counter attack, given the quality of the opposition.

“When you play against Brazil, you need to understand they are the best team in the World Cup,” said the former Wigan and Everton boss. “So, we have to have a real understanding of how to play against a team like that — a team with players like Neymar and Coutinho who can decide a game in a second. But it’s a game that when you are a little boy you dream of: playing Brazil in a World Cup quarter-final. We can really enjoy it.”

Martinez has taken some stick for his inability to get the best out of Belgium’s star-studded squad and, had they gone out here, you sensed he would have been in for a difficult time.

But he refused to discuss systems or formations after the way his players got through this tie on sheer determination. “It’s not a day to talk about tactics,” he said. “We had over 20 opportunities with attacks on goal but the result was down to the personality, focus, desire and never-give-up attitude of the players. It was about their desire to win and to be in a quarter-final against Brazil. We need to celebrate that. Everybody needs to be very proud of these players.

Martinez also believes the fitness of his players could be crucial on Friday.

“Physically, we finished the game really strong,” he said. “The third goal, in less than six seconds we covered the whole pitch. And on top of that at the end Romelu [Lukaku] was unselfish. He could have tried to score but he was aware and allows Nacer to score an open goal.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in