Martinelli shines as Brazil knock Japan out of World Cup
Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to score the winning goal to lead Brazil to a 2-1 win over Japan which sealed their place in the 2026 World Cup second round on Monday.
The Arsenal forward replaced Matheus Cunha in the 66th minute before scoring the winning goal in the 96th minute to send Brazil through following an underwhelming performance.
Carlo Ancelotti kept faith with the midfield trio of Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Pacqueta.
Rayan, Vinicius Junior and Matheus Cunha were tasked with providing the firepower upfront.
The Selecao started the match on the front foot, dominating possession but struggling to break down the Japanese.
Japan took the lead against the run of play thanks to brilliant strike from Kaishu Sano in the 29th minute.
He took advantage of a poor pass from Danilo before beating Casemiro for pace to fire a low drive effort beyond Alisson Becker in goal for Brazil.
Japan held on to take the lead into the break before Brazil found their way back into the game in the second half.
Casemiro restored parity for the five -time champions with a stunning header from Gabriel’s cross in the 56th minute.
A few minutes later, Vinicius’ effort hit the woodwork as Brazil mounted pressure on Japan to get the winner.
Martinelli provided a moment of brilliance to hand Brazil the victory in the added time to seal their place in the round of 16.
He produced a close range finish from a Bruno Guimaraes’ pass.
Guimaraes has now recorded four assists at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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Top Stats From Brazil vs Japan Match
Brazil played 359 passes in that half of football – completing 333 of them.
It is the most successful passes that they have had in the first half of a World Cup match since 1966.
Gabriel Magalhaes is just the second player to complete 100-plus successful passes in a World Cup match for Brazil, after Dunga three times in 1994.
Bruno Guimarães has now provided more assists than any other player at the 2026 World Cup (4).
🅰️ vs. Morocco
🅰️🅰️ vs. Scotland
🅰️ vs. Japan
Brazil come from behind to win a knockout stage match at the World Cup for the first time since 2002 against England.
Casemiro is the second-oldest goalscorer for Brazil at FIFA World Cup.
◎ Bebeto (34y, 137d)
◉ Casemiro (34y, 126d)
◎ Thiago Silva (33y, 278d)
Japan have scored eight goals at the 2026 World Cup, the joint-most by an Asian nation in a single edition of the tournament. They equal South Korea’s record from 2002.
