Brazil narrowly missed out on the being the biggest scalp in this World Cup, as they edged out a plucky Japanese side 2-1 with a late, late goal from Gabriel Martinelli. The Seleção, who for long stages of the game seemed to be stuck in a lower gear, inexplicably found a way to ramp things up and built sustained pressure on the Blue Samurai, culminating in their late goal.
Japan sat deep, and were dangerous on the counter against an aging Brazil side. But old was gold for the Brazilians, as Casemiro scored Brazil’s opener to cancel out Kaishu Sano’s opener for the Japanese. Zion Suzuki was impressive for the Asians, as he did more than his fair bit to keep the Brazilians at bay. He was a calm, composed figure even as Brazil started to swing in more crosses into the box in the second half, but one of them found Casemiro unmarked, who made no mistake.
The Japanese have never won a World Cup match, and the Brazilian’s have never exited from a World Cup this early, but the game really was on a knife’s edge until Martinelli’s strike, when he managed to find a yard of space in the box and squeeze home to break Japanese hearts.
The first half was a tense affair, but Carlo Ancelotti brought all of his guile and experience to bear as he worked out a way to keep sustained pressure on the Japanese in the second half against a gifted Japanese side. Brazil now awaits the winner of the Norway and Ivory Coast fixture in their next game.
Morocco stuns Netherlands in penalty shootout
Elsewhere, Morocco stunned the Netherlands on penalties (putting paid to an early prediction for the Oranje to win) to set up a tie with the Canadians in the next round.
The game was tied 1-1 at the end of extra time, as Cody Gakpo’s opener was cancelled out by Issa Diop in second half stoppage time. It was a taut and fractious game, with tackles flying and both teams not really hitting their full rhythm. Bart Verbruggen was excellent for the Dutch all game, and the Dutch saw their penalty shootout kick off well, as El Aynaoui skied his penalty. Kluivert hit the post with his penalty, but Verbruggen very nearly saved the next penalty from Rahimi, as he made a good save. But in the motion of getting up, the ball (which was tangled in his legs) stumbled over the line and gave the Moroccans crucial momentum they never let go of.
Hakimi replicated Kluivert’s effort, complete with hitting the post, but his miss was not to prove vital in the grand scheme of things, as Timber and Summerville missed their penalties, allowing Saibari to seal the deal for the Moroccans.
For the Oranje, it was a tale of what could have been as they rue their fate. For Morocco, they might well feel “unbeatable” as their coach put it. This World Cup just got a lot more interesting.
