Brazil face Japan in a thrilling round of 32 clash, as the Asian side hope to cause an upset to the five-time World Cup champions. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have grown into the tournament nicely after a slow start, but will face a tough test against an impressive Japan side.
Brazil opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Morocco, which they were arguably lucky to get. Since then, they’ve scored six goals without reply against Scotland and Haiti, and have begun to look more like a Brazil side should at a World Cup. Of course, the knockout stages are likely to present a tougher test than both Scotland and Haiti did, but at least for now, there’s a feel-good factor in the camp.
Japan have given a great account of themselves despite managing just one win against arguably the worst side at the tournament in Tunisia. They were excellent in a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, and then did enough for a 1-1 draw against Sweden to make it through to the knockout stages. They’re on a 10-game unbeaten run over a nine-month period, which includes a 3-2 win in a friendly against Brazil last year.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV1 in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: 1 p.m. Monday, June 29
UK BST: 6 p.m. Monday, June 29
India IST: 10:30 p.m. Monday, June 29
Australia AEST: 3 a.m. Tuesday, June 30
Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, USA
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Team News
Brazil – Predicted XI
Alisson Becker
Danilo | Marquinhos | Gabriel Magalhães | Douglas Santos
Bruno Guimarães | Casemiro | Lucas Paquetá
Rayan | Matheus Cunha | Vinícius Júnior
Japan – Predicted XI
Zion Suzuki
Tsuyoshi Watanabe | Shogo Taniguchi | Hiroki Ito
Yukinari Sugawara | Ao Tanaka | Daichi Kamada | Keito Nakamura
Ritsu Doan | Daizen Maeda
Ayase Ueda
Talking Points
Vinícius holds the keys
Having scored in all three group games so far, there is little doubt that Vinícius Júnior will once again be central to most things positive for Brazil in attack.
He has scored four goals so far, taking his goal tally to seven in just 12 appearances under Ancelotti. Vinícius had only scored six goals in 39 appearances for Brazil before Ancelotti took over.
With Matheus Cunha in the mix as the centre-forward now, and the link-up play between Brazil’s two main front men looking exciting, it’s a real opportunity for them to throw a few punches at Japan, who did, at times, look vulnerable to the pace of Crysencio Summerville and Donyell Malen against the Netherlands.
Against a side as organised and disciplined as Japan, it’s going to take speed, invention and precision for Brazil to break through. They have their superstar who provides that in plenty, in Vinícius. Brazil will certainly rely on him as they look to keep the fire burning in a campaign that they hope will end with a sixth World Cup title.
Japan’s chance to end a barren knockout run
Japan have never won a knockout game at a World Cup, but have edged closer in the last two editions. In 2018, they had their hearts broken when Nacer Chadli scored a stoppage time winner for Belgium to win 3-2, after Japan had taken a 2-0 lead in the second half. In 2022, they led against Croatia, but conceded an Ivan Perisic equaliser, before losing on penalties.
And now they have an opportunity to set things right and progress to the round of 16 to surpass any accomplishment at a World Cup. Japan don’t have to look far for inspiration. Last year in October, they completed a stunning turnaround to beat Brazil 3-2, having trailed 2-0 with 20 minutes to go. They scored three times in a 19-minute second-half burst that snatched the game away from Brazil. One of the goalscorers that night — Takumi Minamino — is injured and not in this squad, but Japan have several goal scorers to turn to.
They are sweating on the fitness of Takefusa Kubo, perhaps their most accomplished attacker, but in the likes of Ayase Ueda, Daizen Maeda, and Ritsu Doan, Japan’s attack will be in good hands.