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Brazil defeated Japan on Monday 2-1 in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, held at the NRG Stadium in Houston, and moves on to the next round of the tournament. Japan, which surprised with an early goal, is eliminated from the competition.
The match started with a Japanese surprise. In the 29th minute, Kaishū Sano took advantage of an error by Danilo in midfield, advanced with the ball, and shot from outside the area to make it 0-1 on the scoreboard. Brazil went into halftime trailing despite largely dominating possession and creating dangerous chances.
At the start of the second half, coach Carlo Ancelotti made a substitution: Lucas Paquetá was replaced by Endrick in the 46th minute. The Brazilian response came quickly: in the 56th minute, Casemiro scored with a header to tie the game 1-1 and restore calm to the Canarinha.
Brazil continued to press and secured the comeback goal to end the match with a . The scorer of the decisive goal was not explicitly recorded in the official match events.
The statistics reflected Brazil's dominance throughout the ninety minutes: 69% possession compared to Japan's 31%, 18 shots (six on target) against just five from the Asians (two on target), and only four fouls committed compared to the 11 by the Japanese.
As for the cards, the match had a total of five yellow cards. Sano received the first in the 12th minute, even before scoring his goal; Casemiro got his in the 14th; Kamada in the 45th; Danilo in the 48th; and Suzuki in the 84th.
Brazil reached this matchup as the leader of Group C with seven points, after drawing 1-1 with Morocco and defeating Haiti and Scotland 3-0 each. Japan, on the other hand, advanced as the second in Group F with five points, after drawing 1-1 with Sweden in their final group match.
This was the first official match between both teams in a World Cup.
In the round of 16, Brazil will face the winner of the match between Ivory Coast and Norway, scheduled for July 5 in New York.
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