Brazil Survives Japan’s Scare as Cunha Keeps His Hot Streak Alive

The World Cup knockout rounds are officially underway, and Brazil’s 2-1 win over Japan on Monday night in Houston was anything but a walkover. Carlo Ancelotti’s side came into this Round of 32 matchup as heavy favorites, but Japan made them sweat for every minute of it.

Matheus Cunha, the former Hertha Berlin and RB Leipzig attacker who now leads Brazil’s line under Ancelotti, picked up right where he left off in the group stage. He bagged his fourth goal of the tournament in the first half, slotting home after a clever feed from Vinicius Jr. That puts Cunha alone atop the Golden Boot race for now, and the guy just looks confident in a way he never quite did in club ball last season.

Japan didn’t roll over though. They came out in the second half with way more energy than they showed in the first 45, and they made things nervy for Brazil when Ritsu Doan — wearing the captain’s armband for the second time this tournament — curled a beauty from outside the box in the 67th minute. Doan, who plays his club football for Eintracht Frankfurt, has been Japan’s heartbeat in this tournament, and he nearly pulled them level with a free kick that skimmed the crossbar ten minutes later.

Brazil’s stars delivered when it mattered

Casemiro, who looked a step slow in group play, found another gear in midfield. He broke up countless Japanese attacks and finished the night with eight recoveries and a 92 percent pass completion rate. Bruno Guimarães alongside him gave Brazil the kind of control they lacked in earlier matches, and it was his long ball forward that led to the second goal — a scrappy finish from Rayan in the 74th minute that proved to be the winner.

Japan kept pushing. Kaishu Sano, the Mainz midfielder who started in the middle of the park, was everywhere in the final half hour, and Hiroki Ito at the back for Bayern Munich held his own against Vinicius Jr for long stretches. But Brazil’s depth eventually told. They soaked up pressure and hit Japan on the break, which is exactly what Ancelotti wanted to see.

The Japanese bench had firepower too — Shuto Machino from Gladbach, Yukinari Sugawara from Werder Bremen, and Freiburg’s Yuito Suzuki all got minutes in the second half — but they couldn’t find an equalizer. Brazil moves on to the Round of 16, where they’ll face either Ghana or Uruguay depending on how Wednesday’s match plays out.

For Japan, this is the second straight World Cup where they’ve been eliminated in the knockout opener. They made the quarterfinals in 2022 after beating Spain and Germany in group play, so this one stings a little different. Doan looked gutted at the final whistle. He sat on the turf for a solid thirty seconds before getting up and shaking hands.