Brazil were staring at a rare setback in Houston, then Gabriel Martinelli turned the match in the final moments and sent Brazil through with a 2-1 win over Japan in a 2026 World Cup knockout clash. Martinelli struck deep into stoppage time, forcing the ball past Suzuki and in off the post after B. Guimaraes slipped him the pass.
That was the kind of finish that explains why the search for Rayan Brazil is rising now: this was not a comfortable advance, but a win sealed at the death. Japan had led through Kaishu Sano, and Casemiro later pulled Brazil level before Martinelli decided it, giving Carlo Ancelotti’s side a result that mattered immediately because it ended Japan’s run at the round-of-32 stage.
Brazil were slow to get what the game demanded, but not slow to respond. Casemiro’s equaliser changed the shape of the match, and Brazil’s second-half pressure kept building until the final break came deep into stoppage time, when one pass and one touch were enough. The margin was narrow, but the shift after halftime was real: Japan had been terrific in the first half and still left with no answer to Brazil’s sustained attacking spell after the interval.
That is the part that gives this result its weight. Japan were described as having earned their lead, which makes the comeback harder to dismiss as a fluke, but Brazil still controlled enough of the second half to force the issue and then finish it. In knockout football, that is often the whole difference between surviving and going home.
Brazil now move on to New York on July 5, where they will face either the Ivory Coast or Norway at MetLife Stadium. For Martinelli, the night will be remembered for the final touch; for Brazil, it was the kind of late escape that keeps a World Cup alive.
