A tough one to take for Japanpublished at 20:14 BST
FT: Brazil 2-1 Japan
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesSummary
Arsenal's Martinelli scores 96th-minute winner as Brazil beat Japan
Ancelotti's side had to come from behind, with Casemiro scoring after Sano opener
Brazil will play either Norway or Ivory Coast in last 16
Send us your views
A tough one to take for Japanpublished at 20:14 BST
Image source, Getty ImagesImage source, Getty Images'Crafty Carlo, once again'published at 20:10 BST
FT: Brazil 2-1 Japan
Chris Sutton
Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Live at Houston Stadium
Image source, Getty ImagesThe start of the second half - fair play for Brazil coming out and being as bold as they were.
You felt the equaliser was coming, but then Japan went again and it became quite an open game.
I think it would have been fair to go to extra-time, but football is all about moments and that wonderful moment of magic from Martinelli.
Brazil are through again. Crafty Carlo, once again. That is what he does.
get involved Get Involvedpublished at 20:07 BST
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Have Japan deserved to win? Stats say otherwise but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Jon, Cheddington
While Japan put up a heroic fight, the game should always be about goals, not defending, Deserved win for Brazil. Unlucky Japan.
Dave, Wirral
'Japan couldn't deal with Ancelotti's changes'published at 20:05 BST
FT: Brazil 2-1 Japan
Stephen Warnock
Former England defenderA cruel game, Brazil struggled so much in the first half to break down Japan and changes at half time by Carlo Ancelotti made the difference. Japan couldn't deal with their balls into the box. The clinical finish late on was enough to see Japan off.
Postpublished at 20:04 BST
FT: Brazil 2-1 Japan
Alistair Bruce-Ball
BBC Radio 5 Live commentator at Houston StadiumThe boys from Brazil have found a way through in Houston.
FULL-TIMEpublished at 20:03 BST
Brazil 2-1 Japan
It's all over!
Brazil are through the last 16 of the World Cup at the expense of Japan, whose players are in tears in Houston.
They gave the South Americans a big fight but Carlo Ancelotti's side found a way.
Image source, Getty Imagesget involved Get Involvedpublished at 20:02 BST
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Bit of a shame to see such an average Brazil side scrape through again. Japan deserve more.
Chris, Edinburgh
It's a shame to see Japan going out. They have put up a great effort, but in the end Brazil were just too offensive and the pressure was starting to build up.
Juan, Argentina
Man. There it is. Brazil have clinched it. Good goal, but would have been nice to see Japan progress. Dull.
Rob, Northampton
Postpublished at 90+11 mins
Brazil 2-1 Japan
Carlo Ancelotti wants the referee to blow his whistle as Japan wins a throw-in.
But the play goes on.
'Ancelotti is a serial winner'published at 20:01 BST
Brazil 2-1 Japan
Chris Sutton
Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Live at Houston StadiumThe guy [Carlo Ancelotti] is a serial winner - this is what he does.
Postpublished at 90+9 mins
Brazil 2-1 Japan
We are into the nine minutes of added time.
The Brazil substitutes and coaching staff are on their feet, waiting for the whistle that will confirm their place in the last 16.
get involved Get Involvedpublished at 20:00 BST
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I feel absolutely gutted for Japan. They’ve given absolutely everything and deserve to win, but you cannot count Brazil out at any stage.
Seb, Eastleigh
So cruel on Japan, but Brazil have worked so hard in this second half to bring themselves back.
Kev, Wolves
Japan just went too negative and too deep - shame
Peter, Bristol
SUBSTITUTIONpublished at 90+8 mins
Brazil 2-1 Japan
That assist for Gabriel Martinelli will be Bruno Guimaraes' final involvement in the game.
He is replaced by Danilo Santos while Japan throw on Koki Ogawa for Daizen Maeda.
A last throw of the dice from Hajime Moriyasu?
'A moment of brilliance from Brazil'published at 19:59 BST
Brazil 2-1 Japan
Stephen Warnock
Former England defenderJapan have defended so well throughout this game but Ao Tanaka makes an error and this ball from Bruno Guimarães just splits the defenders and then Gabriel Martinelli has the presence to stun the first touch and send it in. It's a moment of brilliant from Brazil in the most crucial time of the game.
'Magnificent Martinelli'published at 19:59 BST
Brazil 2-1 Japan
Chris Sutton
Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Live at Houston StadiumThat is what Carlo Ancelotti teams do; they find a way to win games of football and come from behind. Ao Tanaka gets caught, the pass from Bruno Guimaraes is gorgeous. He shapes to shoot and fizzes a 10-yard pass into Gabriel Martinelli, who kills the ball with his left foot, and then he finds that far corner. Magnificent Martinelli. It looks like enough for Brazil
GOAL - Brazil 2-1 Japanpublished at 19:57 BST
Gabriel Martinelli (90+6 mins)
Brazil break Japanese hearts!
Gabriel Martinelli with the late, late goal to dash Japan's World Cup hopes.
Bruno Guimaraes receives the ball at the edge of the box and for a moment, he decides to go on his own before playing in Martinelli.
Zion Suzuki gets his hand on the Arsenal forward's shot but it is not enough!
Image source, Getty Images'Taniguchi has had a really good game'published at 19:56 BST
Brazil 1-1 Japan
Stephen Warnock
Former England defenderShogo Taniguchi has had a really good game he's stayed with Endrick every step of the way there. The corners have been poor from Bruno Guimaraes, this could be the most important kick of the game.
Postpublished at 90+4 mins
Brazil 1-1 Japan
Endrick with some nice footwork inside the box before winning a Brazil corner.
SUBSTITUTIONpublished at 90+2 mins
Brazil 1-1 Japan
Casemiro will play no more part in this last-32 tie and former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho comes on in his place.
Postpublished at 19:53 BST
Brazil 1-1 Japan
Chris Sutton
Former England forward on BBC Radio 5 Live at Houston StadiumWhat makes it fascinating this game... Japan pushing Brazil back and then Marquinhos using all his experience at the near post space.
INJURY TIMEpublished at 90+1 mins
Brazil 1-1 Japan
We will have six minutes added on.
And Casemiro has hit the deck and it looks like he won't be able to continue.
Gabriel Martinelli won the last-32 tie for Brazil with his fifth international goal
At a glance
Kaishu Sano puts Japan in front in 29th minute
Brazil level through Casemiro header in 56th minute
Vinicius Jr hits post after brilliant solo run
Gabriel Martinelli wins game for Brazil in sixth minute of stoppage time
BySam Drury
BBC Sport journalist
Gabriel Martinelli scored a dramatic 96th-minute winner as Brazil came from behind to beat Japan and reach the last 16 of the World Cup.
With just seconds left, Brazil won possession back on the edge of the Japan box and Bruno Guimaraes slipped the ball into Martinelli, who took a touch before slotting in off the post.
It was a heartbreaking end for Japan, who had more than matched Brazil in the first half and battled valiantly in the second, but Carlo Ancelotti's side kept pushing and got their reward in final moments.
Japan were comfortable in the first half and Kaishu Sano pounced on Danilo's loose pass to drive past Casemiro and drill the ball into the bottom corner to give his side the lead.
Brazil struggled to respond before half-time but looked a different side after the break with Casemiro rising to power home Gabriel's back-post cross 10 minutes after the restart.
The goal had been coming and the five-time World Cup winners nearly took the lead in stunning fashion three minutes later.
Vinicius Jr received the ball 10 yards inside the Japan half, nutmegged his marker, drove into the box, jinked past another defender and stabbed his shot towards the far corner - only for Japan keeper Zion Suzuki to tip it on to the post.
Japan regrouped from there and while Brazil continued to push forward, chances were limited.
That is until Ao Tanaka loss the ball on the corner of his own box and was ruthlessly punished by Martinelli and Brazil.
More to follow.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play.
1 Give it up
10 Pure perfection
Number: 1 Alisson Becker
Number: 16 Douglas Santos
Number: 3 Gabriel Magalhães
Number: 4 Marquinhos
Number: 13 Danilo
Number: 20 Lucas Paquetá
Number: 5 Casemiro
Number: 8 Bruno Guimarães
Number: 7 Vinícius Júnior
Number: 9 Matheus Cunha
Number: 26 Rayan
Substitutes
Number: 22 Gabriel Martinelli
Number: 19 Endrick
Number: 17 Fabinho
Number: 18 Danilo Santos
Number: 1 Z. Suzuki
Number: 21 H. Ito
Number: 3 S. Taniguchi
Number: 22 T. Tomiyasu
Number: 13 K. Nakamura
Number: 15 D. Kamada
Number: 24 K. Sano
Number: 10 R. Doan
Number: 11 D. Maeda
Number: 14 J. Ito
Number: 18 A. Ueda
Substitutes
Number: 6 S. Machino
Number: 19 K. Ogawa
Number: 2 Y. Sugawara
Number: 25 J. Suzuki
Number: 7 A. Tanaka
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
Related topics
- Published6 June
- Published1 April
FIFA World Cup Scores & Fixtures
Team Lineups
NEW
Select a player in the formation diagram to view detailed performance statsSelect a player to see detailed performance stats, like xG, shots on target and distance covered
home team, Brazil
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Pitch Formation
Starting lineup
Substitutes
home team, Brazil
away team, Japan
Manager: Hajime Moriyasu
Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1
Pitch Formation
Starting lineup
away team, Japan
Match Officials
- Referee:
- Maurizio Mariani
- Video Assistant Referee:
- Marco Di Bello
- Assistant Referee 1:
- Daniele Bindoni
- Assistant Referee 2:
- Alberto Tegoni
- Fourth Official:
- Sandro Schärer
- Assistant VAR Official:
- Ivan Bebek
Match momentum
Brazil
Japan
High chance of scoring
Medium chance of scoring
Low chance of scoring
Dominant period
Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute.
Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute.
| Minute | Team with most threat |
|---|---|
Kick off 1' | Brazil |
2' | Brazil |
3' | Brazil |
4' | Brazil |
5' | Brazil |
6' | Brazil |
7' | Brazil |
8' | Brazil |
9' | Brazil |
10' | Brazil |
11' | Brazil |
12' | Brazil |
13' | Brazil |
14' | Brazil |
15' | Brazil |
16' | Brazil |
17' | Brazil |
18' | Japan |
19' | Brazil |
20' | Brazil |
21' | Brazil |
22' | Brazil |
23' | Brazil |
24' | Brazil |
25' | Brazil |
26' | Brazil |
27' | Japan |
28' | Japan |
29' | JapanGoal |
30' | Japan |
31' | Japan |
32' | Brazil |
33' | Brazil |
34' | Brazil |
35' | Brazil |
36' | Brazil |
37' | Brazil |
38' | Brazil |
39' | Brazil |
40' | Brazil |
41' | Brazil |
42' | Japan |
43' | Japan |
44' | Japan |
45' | Japan |
45'+1 | Brazil |
45'+2 | Japan |
45'+3 | Japan |
Half time 45'+4 | Brazil |
46' | Brazil |
47' | Japan |
48' | Japan |
49' | Japan |
50' | Brazil |
51' | Brazil |
52' | Brazil |
53' | Brazil |
54' | Brazil |
55' | Brazil |
56' | BrazilGoal |
57' | Brazil |
58' | Brazil |
59' | Japan |
60' | Japan |
61' | Japan |
62' | Japan |
63' | Brazil |
64' | Brazil |
65' | Brazil |
66' | Brazil |
67' | Brazil |
68' | Brazil |
69' | Brazil |
70' | Brazil |
71' | Brazil |
72' | Brazil |
73' | Brazil |
74' | Brazil |
75' | Brazil |
76' | Brazil |
77' | Brazil |
78' | Brazil |
79' | Brazil |
80' | Brazil |
81' | Brazil |
82' | Brazil |
83' | Brazil |
84' | Brazil |
85' | Brazil |
86' | Brazil |
87' | Japan |
88' | Brazil |
89' | Brazil |
90' | Japan |
90'+1 | Japan |
90'+2 | Japan |
90'+3 | Brazil |
90'+4 | Brazil |
90'+5 | BrazilGoal |
90'+6 | Brazil |
90'+7 | Brazil |
90'+8 | Brazil |
90'+9 | Brazil |
90'+10 | Brazil |
Full time 90'+11 | Japan |
Match Stats
Key, Brazil v JapanBasic Stats
Overall possession
Brazil 68.6%Japan 31.4%
xG
Brazil 1.7247Japan 0.2289Shots
Brazil 19Japan 5Shots on target
Brazil 7Japan 2Total touches inside the opposition box
Brazil 35Japan 11Goalkeeper saves
Brazil 1Japan 4Aerial duels won
Brazil 12Japan 15Fouls committed
Brazil 4Japan 13Corners
Brazil 6Japan 2In-depth match stats
Attack
Shots
Brazil 19Japan 5Shots on target
Brazil 7Japan 2Shots off target
Brazil 6Japan 1Attempts out of box
Brazil 7Japan 3Hit woodwork
Brazil 1Japan 0Total offsides
Brazil 1Japan 0Expected
xG
Brazil 1.7247Japan 0.2289xG from open play
Brazil 1.671Japan 0.0835xG from set play
Brazil 0.0538Japan 0.1454xA
Brazil 1.99714Japan 0.231023Distribution
Total passes
Brazil 682Japan 315Pass accuracy %
Brazil 91.6Japan 82.9Backward passes
Brazil 89Japan 51Forward passes
Brazil 134Japan 100Total long balls
Brazil 45Japan 45Successful final third passes
Brazil 210Japan 55Total crosses
Brazil 40Japan 10Defence
Total tackles
Brazil 12Japan 10Won tackle %
Brazil 66.7Japan 40Fouls committed
Brazil 4Japan 13Total yellow cards
Brazil 2Japan 3Total clearances
Brazil 18Japan 45Clearances off the line
Brazil 0Japan 1
Season so far
FIFA World Cup
Key, Brazil v Japan
Goals scored
Brazil 9Japan 8Form guide
All competitions
Brazil won
v Scotland
0
3
FIFA World Cup
Japan draw
v Sweden
1
1
FIFA World Cup
Brazil won
v Haiti
3
0
FIFA World Cup
Japan won
v Tunisia
0
4
FIFA World Cup
Brazil draw
v Morocco
1
1
FIFA World Cup
Japan draw
v Netherlands
2
2
FIFA World Cup
Brazil won
v Egypt
2
1
Friendlies
Japan won
v Iceland
1
0
Friendlies
Brazil won
v Panama
6
2
Friendlies
Japan won
v England
0
1
Friendlies
Previous meetings
All competitions
Brazil and JapanBrazil Won 6Japan Won 1
Played 9
Draw 2
Previous scores
All competitions
Friendlies
Japan 3 , Brazil 2 on the 14th of October 2025
Japan
Brazil
14th of October 2025
Japan 0 , Brazil 1 on the 6th of June 2022
Japan
Brazil
6th of June 2022
Japan 1 , Brazil 3 on the 10th of November 2017
Japan
Brazil
10th of November 2017