FIFA World Cup 2018 Last 16: Brazil, Belgium advance at expense of Mexico, Japan

July 5, 2018 On Monday, Brazil defeated Mexico 2–0 and Belgium defeated Japan 3–2 in the FIFA football World Cup in the Last 16 knockout phase. Brazil is now scheduled to play Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Brazil vs Mexico
Brazil faced Mexico in. Mexico had greater ball possession in the match. Before the half-hour mark, Neymar,, and Philippe Coutinho had attempts for goal but their attempts were blocked or saved by Mexican goalkeeper. Both sides were tied goalless at the halftime.

In the second half, Brazil opened the scoring in the 51st minute when Neymar scored a close-range shot from 's assist. and had their attempts for equalising for Mexico but were unsuccessful. was substituted out in the 60th minute. Brazil made two substitutions in the final ten minutes of the 90-minute game, as and  were substituted in for  and Coutinho. In the 88th minute, just two minutes after coming on the field, Firmino scored a goal, doubling the lead for Brazil. The South Americans won the match 2–0.

After the match, Mexico's coach said, "Being able to play at such a level with a team like Brazil, it shows Mexico is a good team. We just didn't have that extra quality they had in front of goal. We were able to play a balanced game and it says a lot about us and our style. We need to keep developing and we hope our players will come and play in Europe so they can play every weekend against the best clubs in the world, and then our national team will improve."

Belgium v Japan
Belgium faced Japan at the. Belgium had greater ball possession versus Japan, who were the only Asian team left in the tournament. In the first ten minutes, Japan's and  missed their attempts for goals. Belgium's Axel Witsel, Romelu Lukaku,, Eden Hazard and had attempts to put Belgium in lead but both the sides remained goalless in the first half.

Three minutes in the second half, opened the scoring for Japan, from 's assist. Four minutes later, scored from Kagawa's assist doubling the lead for Japan. In the 65th minute, Yannick Carrasco was replaced by. Four minutes later, scored the first goal for Belgium. Fellaini scored an equaliser in the 74th minute from Hazard's assist. In the injury time, Chadli added the third goal from Thomas Meunier's assist which proved to be the match-winning goal.

After the match, Japan's coach said, "I am devastated. Yes we took the lead but we couldn't win. It might have been a very small difference but I felt there was nothing in it. Maybe it was my decisions as a coach or my tactics, and we couldn't keep up with Belgium, who upped their game." He added, "I don't want to admit it. I do feel that it was a tragedy but I have to accept the defeat as a fact."