Brazil will face Japan in a thrilling round of 16 match as the Asian team looks to upset the five-time world champions. Carlo Ancelottiโs men have settled into the tournament well after a slow start but face a tough test against an impressive Japanese side.
Brazil opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Morocco, which they may have been lucky to do. Since then they have scored six unanswered goals against Scotland and Haiti and have begun to look more like Brazilโs World Cup team. Of course, the playoffs are likely to be a tougher test than Scotland and Haiti, but at least for now there is a feel-good factor in the camp.
Japan performed well despite only managing one win against arguably the worst team at the tournament in Tunisia. They played superbly in a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands and then did enough for a 1-1 draw with Sweden to qualify for the knockout stages. They are on a 10-game unbeaten run over a nine-month period, including a 3-2 win in a friendly against Brazil last year.
Hereโs everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV1 in the UK, Fox Sports in the US, Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN for live updates.
Key details:
Start date, time:
USA I: 1 Monday evening, June 29
British Standard Time: 18:00 Monday, June 29
India IS: 22:30 Monday, June 29
Australia AEST: 3 morning, Tuesday, June 30
Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, USA
Judge: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Team news
Brazil โ Projected XI
Alisson Becker
Danilo | Marquinhos | Gabriel Magalhaes | Douglas Santos
Bruno Guimarรฃes | Casemiro | Lucas Paqueta
Ryan | Matheus Cunha | Vinicius Junior
Japan โ Projected XI
Sion Suzuki
Tsuyoshi Watanabe | Shogo Taniguchi | Hiroki Ito
Yukinari Sugawara | Ao Tanaka | Daichi Kamada | Keito Nakamura
Ritsu Doan | Daizen Maeda
Ayase Ueda
Topics for conversation
Vinicius holding the keys
Vinicius Junior scored seven goals in 12 matches under Carlo Ancelotti. Megan Briggs/Getty Images
With Vinicius Junior scoring in all three group stage matches so far, there is little doubt that he will once again play a central role in most of Brazilโs positives in attack.
He has scored four goals so far, taking his tally to seven in just 12 appearances under Ancelotti. Vinicius scored just six goals in 39 appearances for Brazil before Ancelotti took over.
With Matheus Cunha now at centre-forward and the combination of Brazilโs two main strikers looking exciting, this is a real opportunity for them to get some shots in on Japan, who at times looked vulnerable to the pace of Crisencio Summerville and Donyell Malen against the Netherlands.
Against a team as organized and disciplined as Japan, Brazil will need speed, creativity and precision to get ahead. They have a superstar who provides this in abundance in Vinicius. Brazil will certainly rely on him as they look to keep the fire going in a campaign they hope will end with a sixth World Cup title.
Japanโs chance to end its fruitless knockout streak
Japan is aiming to win its first ever World Cup playoff match. (Photo by Luciano Bisbal/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Japan have never won a knockout match at a World Cup but have come close in the last two championships. Their hearts were broken in 2018 when Nacer Chadli scored the winner in stoppage time to give Belgium a 3-2 win after Japan had led 2-0 in the second half. They led against Croatia in 2022 but missed Ivan Perisic to equalize and then lost on penalties.
And now they have the opportunity to turn things around and reach the 1/8 finals to surpass any achievement at the World Cup. Japan doesnโt have to look far for inspiration. Last October they pulled off a stunning turnaround to beat Brazil 3-2 after trailing 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining. They scored three goals in a 19-minute burst in the second half to snatch the game from Brazil. One of the nightโs scorers โ Takumi Minamino โ was injured and did not make the squad, but Japan have several scorers to turn to.
They are worried about the fitness of Takefusa Kubo, perhaps their most experienced striker, but with the likes of Ayase Ueda, Daizen Maeda and Ritsu Doan, Japanโs attack will be in good hands.