Belgium has transformed itself from an intriguing long-shot into a World Cup favorite, beating Panama, Tunisia and finally England in the group stage and scoring a tournament-high nine goals in the process.
On the other end, Japan was lucky to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, besting Senegal through the new fair play points tiebreaker as the second-place team in Group H.
The Japanese will face their toughest test of the tournament Monday against a Belgium squad that dominated Group G play with a perfect 3-0-0 record and a plus-7 goal difference, including a win over England.
Possible line-ups for both the teams
Belgium XI: Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco, Thomas Meunier, Dries Mertens, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku.
Japan XI: Eiji Kawashima, Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Gen Shoji, Yuto Nagatomo, Makoto Hasebe, Gaku Shibasaki, Genki Haraguchi, Shinji Kagawa, Takashi Inui, Yuya Osako.
Prediction
Belgium 3-1 Japan
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