Martinelli scores late as Brazil beat Japan 2-1, enter World Cup last 16

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkBrazil's Gabriel Martinelli celebrates after scoring his side's second goal against Japan in Houston [Ashley Landis/AP]By The Associated PressPublished On 29 Jun 202629 Jun 2026Gabriel Martinelli scored the winning goal late in injury time to give five-time champions Brazil a 2-1 win over Japan in the World Cup round of 32 in Houston.Martinelli, who had come on as a second-half substitute, scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time as the match appeared to be heading to extra time on Monday.Brazil will next face either the Ivory Coast or Norway on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the round of 16.Casemiro had earlier equalised with a header in the 56th minute off an assist from Gabriel Magalhaes after just missing another chance two minutes earlier. The shot sailed just out of reach of the outstretched hand of Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and into the net.Kaishu Sano stole a misplaced pass at midfield and took it down the field before a right-footed shot from above the half-circle put Japan ahead in the 29th minute.Kaishu Sano celebrates scoring the first goal [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]Vinicius Junior, who has scored four goals so far in this year’s tournament, had a chance to put Brazil on top in the 58th minute, but his shot from the left box was deflected by Suzuki and went off the far post.Casemiro left in the first minute of second-half stoppage time with what appeared to be a leg injury.Brazil had two chances to even the score early in the second half before breaking through. On the first one, Suzuki blocked a header from Bruno Guimaraes in the 52nd minute. Soon after, Casemiro’s header bounced off a defender’s head and Suzuki’s face. Suzuki finished with four saves.Japan have never won a knockout match at the World Cup.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 matchup between two countries with deep ties, with Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.Those ties extend to football, where Brazil superstar Zico moved to Japan in 1991 to play for Kashima Antlers and help build Japan’s professional football network. He coached the Japan national team from 2002–06, leading the team to the World Cup in 2006.That team lost to Brazil 4-1 in the only previous meeting between the teams at the World Cup.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 loss to the United States in September.Brazil players celebrate after the match [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]