The Japanese archipelago is shaking. For the first time in Japanese soccer history, it caused a catastrophe that defeated Brazil.
Japan won a 3-2 A-match friendly against Brazil at 7:30 p.m. on the 14th at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Japan, which lost consecutive points to Paulo Enrique and Gabriel Martinelli in the first half, turned the game around with consecutive goals from Takumi Minamino, Keito Nakamura and Ayase Ueda in the second half. As a result, Japan, which had been absolutely inferior to Brazil with two draws and 11 losses in the A-match match, broke its six-game losing streak and beat the 'Samba Corps' for the first time in history. It is a victory that can only be compared to South Korea, which lost 0-5 at home against Brazil on the 10th. Brazil, which turned a big rotation, finished the two consecutive Asian tours with one win and one loss.
Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu expressed his will to win by using the best members. Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord) was set as the one-top, and Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco) and Doan Ritz (FC Frankfurt) were placed in the second line of attack. Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Kaishu Sano (Mainz), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), and Keito Nakamura (Stade de Reims) lined up in midfield. Shogo Taniguchi (Sint Trawidon), Tsuyoshi Watanabe (Feyenoord), and Junnosuke Suzuki (Copenhagen) set up three backs. Suzuki Zaion (Parma) defended the goal.
Brazil has put forward a de facto 1.5th Army that has changed eight positions compared to the Korean match. Gabriel Martinelli (Arnall) led the attack, and Luis Enrique (Zenit), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham) and Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) took the second line of attack. Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle) and Casemiro (Manchester United) took charge of the midfield, while Paulo Enrique (Vasco da Gama), Fabricio Bruno (Cruzeiro), Lucas Veraldu (Paris Saint-Germain), and Carlos Augusto (São Paulo) lined up as four backs. Ugo Souza (Corinchans) wore goalkeeper gloves.
Brazil opened the door first. In the 10th minute, Martinelli quickly dug into the right side of the opponent's box and attempted a right-footed shot, but it went off to the left of the net. Japan launched a counterattack. Sano's mid-range shot in the 15th minute was deflected off the opponent's defender's leg and placed in the arms of the Brazilian goalkeeper. In the 22nd minute, Doan peeled off the opponent's left-side defense and attempted a cross to the gate, which Minamino caught and shot. The ball missed to the left of the goal, and Ueda led to a volley again with a flash of movement, but the ball fell slightly to the side of the net.
A crisis came after the opportunity. The Japanese defense collapsed after 26 minutes of one space pass. On the outside of the opponent's arc, Guimarães and Paqueta exchanged balls. After receiving the return pass, Guimarães momentarily stabbed the space pass toward Enrique, who penetrated the door, and Enrique shook the net with a sensational right-footed outfront kick.
Brazil, which gained momentum, once again aimed for the back space in the 32nd minute. This time, midfielder Paqueta stabbed a lobbing pass into the penalty area, which Martinelli connected with a non-stop left-footed volley to open the goal. The score quickly widened to 2-0. Doan's mid-range shot in the 39th minute was ineffective, and Brazil finished with a 2-0 lead in the first half.
The second half of the game happened. Japan scored a seven-minute chase goal. Brazilian center back Fabrizio made a fatal pass miss in the box. Minamino, who caught the ball, scored with a right-footed shot toward the top left of the goal. Japan took out midfielder Sano in the 9th minute and put in side resource Junya Ito. Brazil has also made changes. 12 min Martinelli, Vinicius and Guimarangis were taken out one after another and Hodrigo, Matheus Cunha and Hoeliton were put in.
The effect of Japan's replacement was immediately apparent. In the 17th minute, Ito's right cross connected to Nakamura on the other side of the goal. Nakamura's right-footed volley hit Fabrizio's knee in front of the goal and flowed backward to cross the goal line. It was a de facto own goal.
Casemiro's shot in the 17th minute fell into the goalkeeper's arms. In the 22nd minute, Cunha caught Enrique's right cross in front of the penalty area and scored a go-ahead goal again. However, Enrique's offside foul nullified the score.
In the 25th minute, Ueda's header of a cross in front of the goal hit the head of the opponent's defender and deflected, then hit the post and crossed the end line. The corner kick situation that followed. Ueda received the ball posted by Ito with a header. The ball that left Ueda's head hit the opponent's goalkeeper's hand and crossed the goal line. Brazil allowed a shocking turnaround due to a series of error-making plays by its defense.
In the 30th minute of the second half, Brazil played the final game, excluding Paceta, Luis Enrique and Augusto, beating Hishalisson, Istevan and Cao Enrique. Japan also brought Ueda, Minamino, and Nakamura to the bench and confronted them by putting in Shuto Machino, Ao Tanaka, and Yuki Soma.
Brazil, which lost its steam, fought back with Cunha at the center, but failed to penetrate Japan's thick defense. In the first minute of the second half extra time, Hishalisson's header in front of the goal was wide over the net.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
