SINGAPORE (The Thursday Times) — Japan beat Brazil 3-2 in a friendly at Singapore’s National Stadium on Saturday, as substitute Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored in the closing moments after Vinícius Júnior had hauled Brazil back from two goals down.
The win gave Japan a measure of revenge for the World Cup in the summer, when Brazil knocked them out in the round of 32 in Houston with a goal in stoppage time.
Takefusa Kubo put Japan ahead in the 15th minute, finishing a through ball from Ritsu Doan, and Keito Nakamura doubled the lead four minutes later from Shuto Nakano’s cross.
Vinícius pulled one back with a shot from outside the area in the 33rd minute and equalised in the 75th with another long-range strike. Both goals were set up by Bruno Guimarães.
With a draw looking likely, and moments after Endrick hit the post for Brazil, Japan broke away and Sakamoto, who had come on in the 72nd minute, scored from close range. The goal stood after a video review. Brazil’s players protested that a foul had been missed at the start of the move, and captain Raphinha, who had already been substituted, was sent off.
Moriyasu’s last stretch
The match was one of the last two for Hajime Moriyasu, who has coached Japan for more than eight years. He signed a short contract after the World Cup to stay until the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, but the tournament has been moved to December 2027 because of security concerns, so he will leave after Tuesday’s friendly against Paraguay. Go Oiwa is expected to take charge from March.
“This will be an opportunity to show the people in Singapore and Asia that Asian nations can compete at the world’s top level,” Moriyasu said before the game.
It was Japan’s second win over Brazil, also by 3-2, after a comeback victory in Tokyo in October last year that was their first against the five-time world champions at senior level.
Brazil, knocked out by Norway in the last 16 of the World Cup, came to Singapore with a young squad as Carlo Ancelotti begins to build a new team. “We need to have a competitive game to improve and to give experience to our young players,” Ancelotti said on the eve of the match.
