Five-time world champions Brazil barely made it past Japan in the round of 32 fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scoring a last-minute goal to win their first knockout round game.
The Brazil vs Japan round of 32 game was certainly the most high-profile match of this round. While Brazil has a history in the World Cup, Japan has consistently been the best-performing Asian team in this competition. The match was played at Houston Stadium in Texas.
The first quarter of this game was slow and mellow, with both teams looking to settle into the game before trying to take over.
Brazil vs Japan: Brazil Edges Past Japan In Round of 32
Brazil took more chances and had more possession in the first 30 minutes of the match. But the first goal was scored by the Samurai Blue, and it was down to some individual brilliance.
In the 29th minute of the game, the Seleção looked to build an attack from the back. However, midfielder Casemiro gave the ball away to Japanese midfielder Kaishu Kano. Kano then drove the ball to the field, from the halfway line to the opposition box, all by himself. And when a challenge did come in, he struck the ball just before, slotting it into the bottom left corner and making the score 1-0.
And this was the scoreline going into half-time. The second half commenced with the Brazilians going all out, creating massive chances only to be denied by goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
Brazil tied the game up in the 56th minute. Vinicius Jr. played the ball from out wide to Gabriel Magalhães outside the Japanese box. The defender then whipped the ball towards the far corner, where it found the head of Casemiro and went into the net, 1-1.
In the last half hour of the regulation time of this match, both teams created some chances. While Brazil looked more complete, creating chances from a lot of passing and team play, Japan looked to chase the dragon of a flash of brilliance, like the one that had brought them the first goal.
As the game headed into the six minutes of injury time, it seemed that both sides had resigned themselves to taking this match into extra time. But that was not to be the case.
In the 90+5th minute, Japanese midfielder Ao Tanaka lost the ball at the edge of his box, which then came to Bruno Guimarães in striking distance. But rather than taking a half-minded shot, the midfielder instead passed the ball to Gabriel Martinelli, who was standing right behind the offside line in the six-yard box. The Arsenal attacker then slid the ball past the Japanese goalkeeper, giving his team the lead with less than a minute to go.
The match was all but over at this point. Japan did push their line all the way up, looking for another last-minute miracle, but that never came as Brazil won this round of 32 match 2-1.
Brazil will now face the winner of the game between the Ivory Coast and Norway in their round of 16 match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Check Out: Brazil Edges Past Japan In Round of 32
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