Japan Stun Brazil 3-2 With A Stoppage-Time Winner
Japan pulled off a dramatic 3-2 win against Brazil in an international friendly on Saturday.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored the winning goal in stoppage time, after Vinicius Junior had brought Brazil level with two goals.
The match took place at Singapore National Stadium. Japan quickly went up 2-0, but the Real Madrid winger scored twice to tie the game. Unfortunately, the Samurai Blue grabbed the win in the final moments.
Japan opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Ritsu Doan won the ball near midfield and passed to Takefusa Kubo, who ran into the box and scored with a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner.
Just four minutes later, Shuto Nakano raced down the right side and sent a cutback to Keito Nakamura, who calmly scored past Brazilian goalkeeper Pedro Morisco to make it 2-0.
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Brazil answered in the 33rd minute when Vinicius scored with a powerful long-range shot into the top-left corner, after receiving a pass from Bruno Guimaraes. Japan led 2-1 at halftime.
After halftime, Brazil kept pressing for an equaliser and got it in the 75th minute. Vinicius took a short corner from Guimaraes, cut inside Yukinari Sugawara, and fired a shot that hit the post before going in.
However, Japan had the last word in the first minute of stoppage time.
A deflected ball landed at substitute Sakamoto on the right side of the box, and he lifted a right-footed shot into the top-left corner to put Japan back in front.
Brazil’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti and forward Raphinha were sent off after protesting what they believed was a foul on Joao Gomes before the winning goal.
The late goal secured a 3-2 win for Hajime Moriyasu’s team, leaving Brazil with nothing despite Vinicius scoring twice.
This was Japan’s second win over Brazil. Their first came in October 2025, before they lost to Brazil at the 2026 World Cup.
