Brazil vs Japan: Japan Look to End Their Knockout Hoodoo Against the Five-Time Champs
by Joseph King | by Cydias Aujard
Brazil and Japan meet for only the second time in the World Cup
In what looks to be a scintillating matchup on paper, Brazil gets set to take on Japan in the 2026 World Cup Round of 32 at the NRG Stadium in Houston. This marks the first meeting between these two nations in the World Cup since the 2006 edition. Brazil walked away with a 4-1 win in that match, which saw Ronaldo Nazário’s brace make him the all-time World Cup leading scorer at the time.
As for Japan, this is the third straight time that the Samurai Blue have made it to the knockout stage, and the fifth time in their history. However, Japan are yet to win a knockout stage match and they’ve drawn a difficult opponent here. There’s certainly cause for optimism though, as Japan went unbeaten in the group stage which included a comeback victory over the Netherlands. As an additional layer to this matchup, Japan actually beat Brazil 3-2 in a friendly back in 2025.
How they got here
| Matchday | Brazil | Score | Japan | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs Morocco | 1-1 | vs Netherlands | 2-2 |
| 2 | vs Haiti | 3-0 | vs Tunisia | 4-0 |
| 3 | vs Scotland | 3-0 | vs Sweden | 1-1 |
| 7 pts, +5 GD | 5 pts, +5 GD |
Brazil kicked off their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Morocco, a match where the Seleção failed to impress overall. Since then, though, Brazil managed back-to-back 3-0 victories over Haiti and Scotland and are starting to get into their attacking flow.
Japan were somewhat fortunate to draw with the Dutch in their opener, but they were able to build off that momentum in the second round of matches. Their dominant 4-0 win over Tunisia set them up well to advance in the group and they managed to hold on to second place with their draw against Sweden in the final round.
Can Japan finally break through?
Both sides will be without key attacking players, with Brazil's Raphinha ruled out through a hamstring injury and Japan missing Takefusa Kubo. Those absences haven’t stopped them both from playing progressive, attacking football so far in this tournament, though. The expectation is that we’ll see more of that in Houston, as we highlighted in our Brazil vs Japan prediction.
Japan will be hoping to avoid a third consecutive elimination in the first knockout round game. 2022 saw them ousted by Croatia on penalties, but it was the 2018 edition that will have caused Japanese fans trauma. Samurai Blue were leading 2-0 against Belgium before sensationally conceding three straight goals in the final 21 minutes to lose 3-2. Now standing between themselves and a first ever knockout round victory? The five-time World Cup champions.
For a team with as much aura around it as Brazil, it’s now been 24 years since they last lifted the famous trophy.
That 2002 team under Scolari was one for the ages, with names like: Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho. 24 years later, it’s now up to Ancelotti to guide this current group of Canarinho players to the promised land.
Brazil rarely falters in the group stage and opening knockout rounds. They’ve made it to the quarter-finals in eight consecutive World Cups. However, they’ve struggled to make it past that mark. In fact, Brazil has made it past the quarter-finals once since that 2002 championship. That was the infamous 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Germany on home soil in 2014.
Vinicius Jr. vs Ayase Ueda: the marquee duel
With Raphinha and Kubo out for this game, both teams will have to lean even more heavily on their standout stars. For Brazil, that has undoubtedly been Vini Jr. The 26-year-old is in his peak years and is really making his mark in what is his second World Cup appearance. In 2022, Vini recorded 1 goal and 2 assists; this time around, the Real Madrid winger has scored 4 goals and dished out 1 assist.
He was scintillating against Scotland, scoring twice on 8 shots and with the feeling that he easily could have had more. What’s striking is that Vinicius Jr. only managed 6 goals in 39 appearances under previous Brazil managers. Under Ancelotti, Vini is up to 7 goals in 13 caps. It’s a worrying statistic for Japan and he will be the primary threat that they will have to neutralise.
On the other side, Ayase Ueda will be the primary attacking focus trying to finish off the Japanese attacks. The Feyenoord striker scored twice and provided an assist in his team’s 4-0 rout of Tunisia and leads the team in G/A. His impressive performances reportedly have teams from the Premier League and Bundesliga targeting a potential summer signing. If Japan is to finally win a World Cup knockout round fixture, Ueda will have to be at his sharpest.
