And so it was Belgium that won Group G
Their 1-0 win over England last Thursday won them the group, sending them on to a supposedly easier clash with Japan.
However, with an hour played in Rostov, Roberto Martinez's men found themselves in a sticky situation. An opener from Genki Haraguchi early in the second half was swiftly followed by a second Japanese goal from Takashi Inui. Not in the script.
Inui's goal was impressive - firing home from over 20 yards out. It was also cause for some to remind Thibaut Courtois of his comments about Jordan Pickford last week.
Speaking after the game with England, Courtois suggested Adnan Januzaj's match winning goal would've been a routine save for himself.
"The goalkeeper is 10cm smaller than me," he said. "I would have caught it. He was too busy throwing his legs in the air."
So, with that in mind, you can probably guess what many people tweeted in the immediate aftermath of Inui's goal...
https://twitter.com/HylandIan/status/1013861555157467147
https://twitter.com/JohnShaw_71/status/1013861725626658817
https://twitter.com/scoutsattending/status/1013862681592332295
https://twitter.com/waggo2110/status/1013862577997303809
https://twitter.com/PaulRideout/status/1013864398505603073
You get the gist.
Belgium were able to get back on level terms in the game. Jan Vertonghen's looping header halved the deficit before substitute Marouane Fellaini equalised. The game appeared to be heading for extra-time, only for a stoppage time counter attack from the Red Devils to end in Nacer Chadli scoring a winner.