Patient Brazil rally past Japan

Patience and a change of strategy at halftime were the secrets to Brazil’s last-gasp 2-1 victory, opens new tab over Japan in Houston on Monday that sealed a place in the last 16 of the World Cup, according to coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Brazil turned around a deficit in a World Cup knockout game for the first time since beating England 2-1 in the quarter-finals in 2002, as a goal from Gabriel Martinelli in the 95th minute defeated a Japan side that had proven stubborn.

Ancelotti said the belief was always there they would score, but a tweak in tactics at halftime to use more crosses into the box paid dividends ?as Casemiro equalised and Brazil seized control of the game.

“This was the most complete game we have played (at the World Cup),” Ancelotti said.

“We had trouble in the first half as Japan were defending well; they were close and tight to us.

“In the second half, we overcame it; we got some space and put in crosses. This was an evolution (in tactics) for sure.

“At halftime I said to the players to be patient, because sooner or later we would score a goal. But we had to keep our shape to ensure we did not compromise the game further.

“Japan is a very good ?team, very organised, they create dangerous opportunities and get close (defensively). They are physical.”

Ancelotti praised Martinelli’s contribution off the bench and said he is the perfect impact substitute.

“Martinelli has a lot of intensity as a player, he is always on his top game,” he said.

Ancelotti did not use Neymar off the bench but said he had ?considered bringing on the experienced forward.

“We were thinking about (extra time). I told Neymar that if it was a draw at a certain point, I would put him on the pitch. As it turned out we did not ?need him.”

“We can never be content with what we are doing,” ?Ancelotti said. “We are doing a good job, but we need to improve.

We want to play at our highest level.

“We really enjoyed today’s match, but we need to think about the next match. We respect all teams and all players.”

Neymar mocks German economist who predicted Japan would beat Brazil
Neymar took aim at German economist Joachim Klement after Brazil beat Japan 2-1 to reach the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

Klement’s prediction model had tipped Japan to produce a shock victory, but the Brazil forward wasted little time reminding him of the outcome with a playful post on social media.

Neymar poked fun at Klement after Brazil edged past Japan 2-1 to secure their place in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

The Santos star reacted on social media after the final whistle, referencing Klement’s prediction that Japan would eliminate the five-time world champions.

Klement, a mathematician and economist, had attracted attention before the tournament after predicting that Japan would beat Brazil in the knockout stages.

He based the forecast on his World Cup prediction model, which had previously identified the winners of the 2014, 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Before the competition, Klement told Fortune India: “I don’t make predictions about individual matches in the group stage, but I do predict that we might get a match between Brazil and Japan in the last 32 and that Japan will win against Brazil.

That sounds absurd to me at first, because Brazil is the world’s most successful team in history. Yet, the current generation of players is not at their best, while Japan has a very good team at the moment.”

After Brazil’s victory, Neymar wrote on X: “Mr. Joachim Klement… please try again at the next World Cup.”