Round of 16 (5th and 6th)

Good evening my sporting friends,

Here is the analysis of the games Brazil-Mexico played at 4 pm and Belgium-Japan at 8 pm.

No surprises this time, the two favorites have passed even though both were very hard-fought matches with the result hovering until the end. But I don't want to anticipate anything so if you are curious, just continue with the reading.

Brazil - Mexico 2-0

The goals 51' Neymar (B), 88' Firmino (B)

Brazil (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Filipe Luis, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Fagner; Casemiro, Paulinho (80' Fernandinho); William (89' Marquinhos), Coutinho (86' Firmino), Neymar; G. Jesus

Coach: Tite

Mexico (4-3-3): Ochoa; Gallardo, Ayala, Salcedo, E. Alvarez (55' J. Dos Santos); H. Herrera, Marquez (46' Layun), Guardado; Carlos Vela, J. Hernandez (60' Jimenez), Lozano

Coach: Osorio

At the Samara Arena, the match against Mexico ended 2-0 for Brazil, allowing the Brazilians to pass the round.

The first half was pretty boring with few emotions and a bland gameplay. The start of the game gave the impression that Brazil was not on one of his best days, in fact, the Mexicans created turmoil in the area of the Brazilians and they almost scored with their strikers Sail, Hernandez, and Lozano. Then suddenly the Selecao woke up and began to build the maneuver as they know best. Neymar gave spectacle with his tricks, Mexico closed in his own half of the field and it is only thanks to Ochoa if the result at the end of the first half is still fixed at 0-0.

In the second half the game was immediately unlocked: at 51' Willian flew to the right and put in the middle a cross for Neymar which scored with a tackle. Osorio's attempts to change the fate of the match by throwing Layun and Dos Santos into the mix are of no use. Brazil is unstoppable and continues to push and attack. The Mexicans' hopes are finally extinguished when, 2 minutes before the end of the game, the newly entered Firmino puts into the goal a ball that Ochoa rejected after Neymar's umpteenth strike.

 Brazil is unstoppable with the third 2-0 in a row. Tite's boys convince every game more and more, yesterday against Mexico they played an almost perfect game (except the first 25 minutes) with few smudges and an excellent play style. Now, they have to overcome the obstacle Belgium, a young and fast team, just like themselves: at Kazan, on Friday the show is guaranteed.

The race of Osorio's Tricolor stops at the round of 16. Against this Brazil it was almost impossible to make it; however, the regret for not having made the most out of the first 25 minutes of amnesia of the Selecao, still remains, with a bit more of precision and coldness they could have achieved a goal that certainly would have shifted the match.

Congratulations, however, to these guys whose qualification in the group of Germany was already a half victory.

Belgium - Japan 3-2

The goals 48' Haraguchi (J), 52' Inui (J), 69' Vertonghen (B), 74' Fellaini (B), 94' Chadli (B)

Belgium (3-4-3): Courtois; Anziani, Kompany, Vertonghen; Meunier, Witsel, De Bruyne, Carrasco (20' Chadli); Pericolo, Mertens (20' Fellaini), Lukaku

Coach: Martinez

Japan (4-2-3-1): Kawashima; Sakai, Shoji, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Shibasaki (35' Yamaguchi), Hasebe; Inui, Kagawa, Haraguchi (35' Honda); Osako

Coach: Nishino

Match forbidden to the faint-hearted: in Rostov, Belgium won with so much suffering for 3-2 against Japan and flies to the quarterfinals.

The first shot of the game is by Kagawa and it is no coincidence that it is the Japanese who make themselves dangerous. The Asian team is perfectly positioned on the field and their defense is impenetrable. The Belgians, on the other hand, seem to be another team:  they are lacking in ideas and confused; they suffer from the relaunches on the Japanese side, which gave the impression of being able to control the game. They go into the dressing rooms on the 0-0, with the astonishment of the people for an unrecognizable Belgium.

At the start of the second half things didn't change, on the contrary, the unthinkable happens: Japan takes the lead after 3 minutes with a diagonal of Haraguchi, which goes undisturbed between the immobile adversary defense. The Japanese understand that it is the right time and after other 4 minutes they sink the blow with Inui, author of a valuable conclusion from outside the area. That's when coach Martinez lights up and makes two changes that will change the fate of the match: on the field goes Fellaini and Chadli on the place of Mertens and Carrasco. At 69' with a bit of luck, Belgium shortens the distances: Vertonghen hits a header in an attempt to put it back in the area but it comes out a shot that defeats Kawashima. At this point, the Japanese entered into total panic and the inertia of the game was reversed. The Belgians then found a draw with their successor Fellaini at the invitation of Hazard. 2-2 when there is only a quarter of an hour from the end of the game. Japan is tired, has been running a lot in this match and hasn't got the strength needed in order to attack anymore. When it seems by now clear that we have to go to overtime, Chadli's last chance at 94' was transformed into a goal of big joy for the fans that came to the stadium: the game finished 3-2.

Hell and paradise in 90 minutes for the boys of Martinez. The arrogance and the low concentration could have cost a lot yesterday evening, luckily the coach has spotted the changes in the final and the technical carat has had the upper hand on the tenacity of the Japanese. But how much fear after a horrible first half. That's a lesson for the future and especially for the next test against Brazil: Neymar's team will certainly not make any discounts and even a tiny mistake can be fatal.

It's a real pity for Nishino's guys, who really deserved the passage of the turn after such a game. The Japanese, however, suicided themselves, because, with the 2-0 half an hour from the end of the game, you have to manage the game and keep calm, instead, they lost control. A defeat that is burning so much, but is probably the result of karma: do you remember how the Japanese passed the round thanks to the questionable rule of fair play?

Brazil - Belgium will be the third and penultimate quarter-final of the Russia World Cup 2018, scheduled for Friday, July 6 at 8 p.m. at the Kazan Arena.

What awaits us will be a game full of talent and technique, with Neymar and Lukaku in comparison.

On the one hand Brazil, one of the favorites to the final victory and one of the fittest teams of the moment, returning from 3 impeccable performances and 0 goals conceded. On the other hand, Belgium, a rather young team with little international experience, but full of talent and above all very fast, just after an average match with Japan won at the last second.

In my opinion, it will be a game full of goals and decided in the final minutes, if I were to risk a prediction I would say 4-3 for Brazil.

Source: Massimoc23

This is a translation of the post made by @Massimoc23 on Steemit, and he authorized me to translate and publish his post in here. This is my fourth collaboration with him, and more articles will follow!

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