"We knew very well against what kind of opponent we were playing" Tashima said post match.

"The sole fact that we stood for 90 minutes is wonderful. We had a united team. Our head coach earned trust among the players as well as (members) of the Federation. Thanks to this trust, we were winning at the World Cup.

"There can be different interpretations of our match against Belgium, but we believe we played well."

He added that Japan deserved to be in the knockout stage as they were preparing hard by analyzing previous tournaments.

The game between Japan and Belgium ended with the Red Devils winning 3-2 after snatching victory in the last minute of stoppage time.

Belgium will now face Brazil in quarter-finals in Kazan on Saturday (AEST).