In the last minute of the Round of 32 match on June 29, Brazil completed a comeback win over Japan after going 1-0 down at halftime.
Brazil wins the match 2-1 before extra time, and the two goals from Brazil in the second half send them into the Round of 16, and the result means that Japan is eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.
Brazil remains unbeaten in the competition with a record of three wins and one draw. Brazil awaits the winner of Ivory Coast vs. Norway in the Round of 16.
Who Scored for Japan?
Japan scored the opener in the 29th minute with a great strike from Japanese midfielder Kaishu Sano.
Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images
After Brazil attempted to hit Japan on the counterattack, Danilo made a poor pass in the middle of the pitch, and Kaishu Sano intercepted it. Sano takes the ball towards and from outside the box, and he shoots low and into the bottom corner past Alisson Becker.
Who Scored for Brazil?
Brazil looked very different in the second half and was desperate to get a goal early to equalize. It was Casemiro who scored the equalizer with a header in the box.
Casemiro was at the back post and managed to score a header past Zion Suzuki, following a great cross from Gabriel.
Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images
Late in the match, Bruno Guimarães, who was pivotal in the midfield, found a great pass to Gabriel Martinelli in the box, and the Arsenal winger slotted the ball past Suzuki. The ball hit the post and bounced into the net to make it 2-1.
MORE: Brazil Dealt With Unfortunate Casemiro Injury vs. Japan
Player Ratings and Man of the Match: Brazil vs. Japan
These postmatch player ratings from Athlon Sports are based on first-hand analysis while watching the match.
A one (1) is the worst possible score for a player who saw substantial minutes, while a 10 represents a stellar game-changing performance. A five (5) is average based on a player’s role and expected contributions.
Brazil
- Alisson Becker - 5
- Douglas Santos - 6
- Gabriel - 7
- Marquinhos - 6
- Danilo - 4
- Lucas Paqueta - 6
- Casemiro - 7
- Bruno Guimarães - 8 (Man of the Match)
- Vinicius Junior - 7
- Matheus Cunha - 6
- Rayan - 6
- Subs: Endrick (6), Gabriel Martinelli (7), Fabinho (6), Danilo Santos (N/A)
Japan
- Zion Suzuki - 7
- Hiroki Ito - 6
- Shogo Taniguchi - 7
- Takehiro Tomiyasu - 7
- Keito Nakamura - 6
- Daichi Kamada - 6
- Kaishu Sano - 7
- Ritsu Doan - 6
- Daizen Maeda - 6
- Junya Ito - 6
- Ayase Ueda - 6
- Subs: Yukinari Sugawara (5), Junnosuke Suzuki (5), Ao Tanaka (5), Shuto Machino (5), Koki Ogawa (N/A)
