In a World Cup that has seen plenty of upsets, very few teams have held form like the squad from Belgium, which swept through Group G with three straight victories, continuing their brilliance from the qualifying stage. At this point it is one loss and "out," and in this "knockout" phase they will encounter a disciplined team from Japan in a match that is set to begin on Monday at 2 PM ET in Rostov-on-Don. If you are a BetAnySports customer, you'll have almost unlimited wagering possibilities on the World Cup, and that includes Live Betting Ultra, which gives you action on the fly, so to speak.

Belgium was undefeated in ten games of qualifying for the finals tournament, outscoring opponents by a 43-6 margin. In other words, they encountered little resistance. Admittedly the bottom half of Group G was not strong with Panama and Tunisia, but they were also able to defeat England in the third game with a lot of reserves in the lineup. They scored nine goals in the process. And they are balanced.

Japan did not have any margin for error as they advanced past Group H. They were fortunate in a sense in that they played almost all of their opening game against Colombia (who also advanced) with an extra man, the result of a red card for one of Colombia's players. And in the end they won a tie-breaker under rather strange circumstances. They had the same number of points in the group as Senegal, and also the same goal differential, along with a draw in head-to-head competition. For the first time ever in the World Cup, a team won a group tie-breaker on the basis that they had fewer yellow cards than the other. Does that inspire a whole lot of confidence?

In the World Cup betting odds that have been established on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, Belgium is favored as expected:

(In Regulation)
Belgium -250
Japan +917
Draw +382

Belgium advances -670
Japan advances +510

Belgium -1.5 Goals +120
Japan +1.5 Goals -135

Over 2.5 Goals -124
Under 2.5 Goals +109

There are a lot of stars on the Belgian team. Even though there was some suspicion about the defensive corps outside of Vincent Kompany, there is a stalwart in goal in Thibault Courtois, who is generally considered one of the world's best.

Akira Nishino took over from Vahid Hallihodzic as the Japanese head coach in April, meaning that he is not the guy who guided this team through the qualifying phase. As he sends his team forward, he needs something solid from Keisuke Honda, who led the team with seven goals in qualifying, and Shinji Kagawa, who has been with formidable squads like Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United.

But this array of talent does not compare to what Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has at his disposal. The reputation of Eden Hazard is already well-known; he is one of the great midfielders in the world. But it doesn't end with him; not hardly. Kevin De Bruyne is another feared midfielder, and Dries Mertens has been a huge scorer the last couple of seasons for Napoli (a Serie A team).

But the guy who has really emerged is Romelu Lukaku, a striker who entered this tournament as one of the people to watch, and has delivered, with four goals thus far. All of this offensive firepower is going to put a lot of pressure on a defense from Japan that is not considered especially strong.

And De Bruyne is a happier camper now, as Martinez has taken over from previous skipper Marc Wilmots, who was abrasive enough to have been sued for defamation by Courtois.

Nishino made the curious decision to order his team to lay back in the final group game, even though they trailed Poland 1-0. What he was concerned about was not allowing another score, which would have made their goal differential worse. With an attitude like that, you wonder whether they'll be able to trade blows here. Belgium will advance, and we'll lay the goal and a half.

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