Brazil survived a major scare before edging Japan 2-1 with a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Gabriel Martinelli to secure a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 on Monday.
The five-time world champions struggled for much of the first half as Japan frustrated Brazil’s attack with a disciplined defensive display after taking an early lead through Kaishu Sano.
Japan broke the deadlock in the 29th minute when Sano intercepted a misplaced pass from Danilo deep inside Brazil’s half. The midfielder surged forward on a solo run before firing a powerful shot beyond goalkeeper Alisson Becker to give Japan a surprise advantage.
Brazil found it difficult to break through the organised Japanese defence before halftime, with goalkeeper Zion Suzuki rarely called into serious action as the Samurai Blue maintained their lead.
The South Americans returned after the interval with greater urgency and began creating more chances.
Their pressure eventually paid off in the 56th minute when Gabriel Magalhaes delivered a curling cross to the far post. Veteran midfielder Casemiro rose above his marker to head home the equaliser after having missed a good opportunity earlier in the match.
Brazil continued to push for a winner as Japan defended resolutely.
Vinicius Junior came close after weaving his way into the penalty area, only for Suzuki to produce an excellent save that pushed the effort onto the post.
With extra time appearing inevitable, Brazil produced one final attacking move deep into stoppage time.
Danilo regained possession before Endrick combined with Bruno Guimaraes, whose perfectly weighted through ball found Gabriel Martinelli unmarked inside the penalty area. Martinelli controlled the pass before calmly placing his shot into the far corner past Suzuki in the 95th minute to seal Brazil’s comeback victory.
The goal became the latest winning strike scored in normal time of a FIFA World Cup knockout match since 1966.
Brazil players and coaching staff celebrated on the pitch at the final whistle while Japan’s players were left disappointed after narrowly missing out on a historic result.
“I can’t explain how I feel,” Martinelli said.
“It’ll only really sink in a while. Thank God I managed to score the goal today. I’m so happy for the team, who gave it their all. I’m lost for words.”
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti praised his side’s patience after overcoming a determined Japanese team.
“We didn’t lose our patience, we had a lot of resources on the pitch and on the bench,” Ancelotti said.
“Japan isn’t an easy opponent. It’s very organised and intense.”
He also revealed that Neymar had been prepared to enter the match only if it went into extra time.
“I was saving Neymar for extra time. He was going to enter the pitch on minute 105 if we hadn’t scored the second goal. I didn’t want to change the structure because the team was playing well.”
The victory sends Brazil into the Round of 16, where they will meet either Ivory Coast or Norway on July 5 at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
The result also extended Brazil’s dominance over Japan in World Cup meetings. The teams had previously met only once at the tournament, in Germany in 2006, when Japan also took an early lead before Brazil recovered to win 4-1.
Overall, Brazil now hold a commanding record against Japan, winning 13 of their 16 meetings. Japan’s only victory over Brazil came in a friendly in Tokyo earlier this year, when they claimed a 3-2 win.
For Japan, the defeat ended hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, while Brazil remain on course for another deep run in the tournament.
Leave a Reply