In the FIFA World Cup 2026, Brazil defeated Japan 2-1 and made it to the Round of 16. Casemiro and Gabriel Martinelli scored goals after trailing 1–0 at halftime. This is the first time since 1978 that Brazil has won a knockout match after coming from behind.
houston [यूएस]June 30 (ANI): Brazil’s sensational win over Japan in their round of 32 match made it the first time since the 1978 FIFA World Cup that the five-time champions won a knockout match despite trailing at halftime. For Japan, Kaishu Sano gave the team the lead by scoring a goal in the 29th minute, but later Brazil made a great comeback with the help of goals from Casemiro (56th minute) and Gabriel Martinelli (90+6th minute).
A historic comeback for Brazil! 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/NLVRAhD5m7 — FIFA (@FIFAcom) June 29, 2026
New records made for Brazil
According to Opta Analyst, only Pelé had more assists for the ‘Men in Canary Yellow’ (Brazil team) at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Bruno Guimarães is slowly closing in on the Brazilian icon’s statistics with four assists in this current edition.
According to Opta Analyst, Casemiro (34 years and 126 days) has become the second oldest player to score a goal for Brazil in the FIFA World Cup. Ahead of him is only Bebeto, who scored a goal against Denmark in 1998 at the age of 34 years and 137 days.
all the excitement of the match
Japan took the lead in the first half
Japan stunned the five-time world champions in the first half when Kaishu Sano latched onto a loose ball in his own half. Sano made a spectacular 40-yard solo run and fired a quick shot past Alisson to make it 1-0.
Brazil’s strong comeback in the second half
After a disappointing first half, which did not cause much trouble for Japan goalkeeper Sion Suzuki, Brazil increased the pressure in the second half. Gabriel Magalhaes sent a precise cross towards the back post, on which veteran midfielder Casemiro rose to score a header, leveling the game at 1–1.
When the match seemed to be heading towards extra time, Danilo won the ball back and passed to Andrić. The youngster cleverly passed it to Bruno Guimarães, who delivered a perfect pass to Gabriel Martinelli who was standing unmarked inside the box.
Martinelli calmly controlled the ball and fired it into the far corner, leaving a frustrated Suzuki unable to do anything as Brazil secured a 2–1 victory.
Brazil has now advanced to the round of 16, where it will face either Ivory Coast or Norway at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 5.
brazil vs japan in world cup
Although this round of 32 encounter in the expanded 2026 format provided a memorable match, encounters between these two nations on football’s biggest stage are extremely rare.
Prior to this 2026 clash, Brazil and Japan had met only once in FIFA World Cup history in Germany 2006. Like the 2026 match, in that match too Japan took a surprise lead in the 34th minute through Keiji Tamada’s goal. However, a star-studded Seleção came back strongly with two goals from Ronaldo, as well as goals from Juninho Pernambucano and Gilberto, to secure a comfortable 4–1 victory. (ANI)
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