Predictions
Brazil 2-1 Japan: Gabriel Martinelli's Stoppage-Time Winner Spares the Seleção
Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Brazil edged Japan 2-1 in Houston to reach the round of 16. Kaishu Sano had stunned the Seleção early before Casemiro levelled after the break.
Brazil are through to the round of 16 — but they were taken to the very last seconds to get there. A Gabriel Martinelli strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time rescued a 2-1 win over a stubborn Japan in the Round of 32 at NRG Stadium in Houston, after the Asian side had threatened one of the great World Cup shocks.
The Group C winners survived a serious scare against a Japan team that has spent years closing the gap on the world’s elite — and very nearly cleared the quarter-final barrier they have never reached.
Sano’s early bolt
The warning Japan carried into the tie — fresh off a 3-2 friendly win over Brazil in October 2025 — looked anything but idle when Kaishu Sano struck in the 29th minute to put them ahead. The lead was deserved on the balance of a first half in which Japan pressed bravely and Brazil laboured for rhythm, and it held to the break.
Casemiro levels, Martinelli decides
Brazil came out sharper after half-time and found the equaliser in the 56th minute, when Casemiro met a Gabriel Magalhães delivery to make it 1-1. The goal swung the momentum, but Japan refused to fold, and as the clock ran down a draw — and extra time — loomed.
Then came the moment. Deep into stoppage time, in the fifth added minute, Bruno Guimarães picked out Martinelli, and the winger finished to send Brazil through and break Japanese hearts. The Seleção’s bench erupted; Japan were left to rue how close they had come.
What it means
For Brazil, it is a job done the hard way — a reminder that even the tournament’s most decorated nation can be dragged to the brink by a well-drilled opponent. They march on to the round of 16, but the manner of the win leaves questions about a side that needed a 95th-minute goal to avoid extra time against a team they were expected to control.
For Japan, it is another agonising near-miss in a fixture they have never won at a World Cup. They came within seconds of forcing extra time against Brazil and leave the tournament with credit, still chasing the first World Cup quarter-final in their history.
Result and goalscorers confirmed via FOX Sports and FIFA match coverage, June 29, 2026.