Brazil came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 to advance to the last 16 of the competition.
Gabriel
Martinelli scored the match winner late on as Brazil won in Houston, Texas.
Earlier, Japan took a first half lead through Kaishu Sano to lead at the break.
Casemiro levelled for the five times world champions early in the second half as Brazil upped the tempo.
Brazil will next face either the Ivory Coast or Norway on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the round of 16.
Japan have never won a World Cup knockout match.
The win was Brazil’s 12th in 15 games against Japan. The teams have also played to two draws, while Japan got their first win in the series in a friendly in Tokyo in October.
This was a match-up between two countries with deep ties, Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.
Brazil won Group C after a draw with Morocco and victories over Haiti and Scotland.
Monday’s victory came on the anniversary of their first World Cup championship in Sweden in 1958, when a 17-year-old Pele scored two goals in the final against the host country.
Japan reached the round of 32 as runner-up in Group F after draws with the Netherlands and Sweden and a win over Tunisia. The loss snaps a 10-game unbeaten streak dating back to a 2-0 defeat to the United States in September.
