Five-time champions Brazil will lock horns with giant-killers Japan on Monday night in the Round of 32 in Houston, Texas.
The Selecao Canarinho, in their fluid attacking 4-3-3 will look to dominate possession and funnel play through Vinicius Jr., while the Blue Samurai will likely remain robust in their 3-4-2-1 defensive shape and look to hit Brazil on the break through Ayase Ueda and Daizen Maeda.
Tournament Form
Brazil recorded two wins and a draw in the group stage — they were slick and sleek in comfortable 3-0 wins over Haiti and Scotland, but unconvincing in a 1-1 draw against Morocco in their tournament opener.
Japan recorded one win and two draws in the group stage — holding their own against the Netherlands in an exciting 2-2 curtain-raiser and thrashing Tunisia 4-0 before settling for a 1-1 draw against Sweden.
Players to watch out for
Brazil: Vinicius Jr. has been named Player of the Match in all three of Brazil’s group stage fixtures, scoring four goals, providing one assist and running the show from the left wing in general. Matheus Cunha has also dazzled with three goals in two matches since replacing Igor Thiago at centre-forward and dovetailing well with Vinicius against Haiti and Scotland. Neymar Jr. remains the all-time leading scorer in this fixture, having netted 9 goals against Japan throughout his career. He returned from a long injury layoff against Scotland and will likely appear off the bench again versus Japan.
Japan: An injury-decimated Japan squad have needed new leaders this tournament (with Wataru Endo, Kaoru Mitoma, Takumi Minamino, Takefusa Kubo and Hidemasa Morita all missing out), and they have stepped up as a collective. The Blue Samurai have had 10 players register goal involvements in the three group stage games, the joint-most alongside Germany. Daichi Kamada and Ayase Ueda, in particular, have answered the call of duty. Kamada has brought his UEFA Conference League-winning form for Crystal Palace to North America, patrolling the midfield and bursting forward from the pivot to score goals. Meanwhile, striker Ueda, coming off a 25-goal season for Feyenoord, netted twice and assisted one against Tunisia.
Brazil WC Track Record
Hosts in 2014, Brazil cruised through the group stage with comfortable wins over Croatia and Cameroon, either side of a draw against Mexico. In the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, they were made to toil against fellow South Americans Chile and Colombia, beating the former on penalties (though the match was remembered for Neymar Jr. escaping spinal paralysis after breaking his vertebra) and the latter more comfortably in regulation time. But it all went south after that. The semifinal against Germany lingers long in collective memory — yes, that 7-1 devastation — and they were still shell-shocked in a 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off that denied them a consolatory bronze medal on home soil.
In Russia 2018, Brazil cruised to the quarterfinals, drawing against Switzerland and beating Costa Rica and Serbia in the group stage, before easing past Mexico 2-0 in the Round of 16. The positive momentum abandoned them in a 2-1 quarterfinal defeat to then-World No. 1 Belgium.
In Qatar 2022, Brazil beat Serbia and Switzerland and lost to Cameroon in the group stage, then battered South Korea 4-1 in the Round of 16. But there was only heartbreak against Croatia in the quarterfinal, drawing 0-0 in regulation time and 1-1 after extra time, only to lose 4-2 on penalties.
Japan WC Track Record
After a forgettable group-stage exit in 2014, Japan have punched above their weight regularly in recent editions.
In Russia 2018, they started brightly by beating Colombia 2-1, and came from behind twice to draw against Senegal 2-2, before losing 1-0 to Poland. In the Round of 16, they took a 2-0 lead against Belgium before the eventual bronze-medallists turned it around to win 3-2, courtesy of a heartbreaking 90+5’ goal from substitute Nacer Chadli.
In Qatar 2022, they showed great experience and nous to beat heavyweights Germany and Spain by identical 2-1 scorelines, coming from behind both times to shock the two European giants. But sandwiched between those famous wins was an unexpected 1-0 loss to Costa Rica. In the Round of 16, they drew against Croatia 1-1 after extra time, but lost on penalties 3-1.
HT Predicts
Japan to take the win.
Brazil have the star power, but Japan have been the stronger collective. The Asians, ranked 17th in the world, also emerged unscathed from a tough group, while World No. 5 Brazil struggled in their only match against a top-20-ranked side (Morocco).
Both sides will both look to wash away recent World Cup heartbreaks, but don’t rule out a 1-1 draw that will take both sides to a deja vu-inducing penalty shootout.
