Samba dancers slay the Samurai; Brazil edge Japan to progress to round of 16

Brazil had not won the World Cup since 2002. But even in their humiliating 1-7 defeat to Germany 12 years ago, the fans of the Selecao still had the consolation that the most successful nation in the tournament's history had made it at least to the quarterfinals in over three decades.

Briefly, at least, that history was in danger of being rewritten after Japan took a shock lead inside 30 minutes of their round of 32 clash in Houston. But Brazil fought like the five-time champions they are, scoring two second-half goals to win 2-1.

Gabriel Martinelli turned inside the box, timing his movement to stay onside as Bruno Guimaraes played a delicate pass. The Arsenal attacker then tucked away, past Suzuki in the 5th minute of added time.

Brazil had started with their talisman Neymar on the bench, and left him there even as they trailed for almost an hour. Kaishu Sano had collected a misplaced pass from Danilo before dashing forward and arrowing into a corner, past Alisson, for his first international goal in the 29th minute.

Casemiro scored the equaliser in the 56th minute. The midfielder towered over the defence at the back post to score from a powerful header. The goal came at the end of relentless pressure applied by the Brazilian attackers after the break. Suzuki made a series of saves, including one from point-blank range. There was another attempt saved off the line before Casemiro's strike. Soon after, Vinicius Junior forced a smart save from Suzuki while aiming for the far corner.

Japan had stunned Germany and Spain in the group stages in the previous edition. Tonight, they threatened to knock out one of the favourites. Still, the Samurai swords were not sharp enough to cut through a resilient Brazilian defence once it reorganised after the early setback.

Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti had named an unchanged side from their 3-0 win over Scotland. Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu had made four changes to his team that drew 1-1 against Sweden in their final Group F match. Goalscorer Sano was among those who started the match, while Takefusa Kubo was benched.