Brazil already knows who it will face in the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup.
Vini Jr., Matheus Cunha & Co. will take on Japan in their first knockout match of the tournament.
Japan finished second in Group F after drawing 1-1 with Sweden this Thursday (25) — see how the bracket shaped up below.
The match will be played next Monday (29) at NRG Stadium in Houston, with kickoff at 2 p.m. (Brasília time).
The winner will then face Ivory Coast or the Group I runner-up (Norway or France) in the Round of 16.
Netherlands on 🔥 in the 1st half and no goals
Ronald Koeman's men took control of the game right away.
Skhiri (own goal) and Brobbey gave them a solid lead after just seven minutes.
The scoreline could easily have been bigger before halftime if not for poor finishing.
In the other match, Japan was moving the ball better.
The best chance ended with Zetterstrom denying Nakamura.
Plenty of drama and the final verdict
After offering little threat until then, Tunisia pulled one back in the 54th minute through Mastouri.
Then, in the day's main match, Japan opened the scoring after a beautiful team move finished by Ueda, Celtic's top scorer, in the 56th minute.
Sweden did not let the "blow" affect them and equalized shortly after, in the 62nd minute.
Gyökeres kept pushing and found Elanga. And the Forest forward scored a beautiful goal from outside the box.
Van Hecke made it 3-1 for the Netherlands in that same minute.
All but sealing top spot in the group with seven points — and a clash with Morocco on that same Monday (29).
Japan brought on Nagatomo (yes, that one). It marked a fifth World Cup for the 39-year-old veteran full-back. All of them since the 2010 edition.
A record among Asian players.
Sweden had more of the ball in the closing minutes, but could not find a comeback. Japan goalkeeper Suzuki made the difference by denying Isak.
Sweden moved to four points, kept a goal difference of zero, and has the best record among the third-placed teams — thanks to goals scored.
It advanced and is waiting for the final results to find out its next opponent.
And Japan reached five points, securing second place.
Brazil 🆚 Japan head-to-head
The overall record stands at 14 matches. Brazil has won eleven, with two draws and one Japanese victory — a 3-2 win in the friendly played last year.
This will be only the second meeting at the World Cup.
The first came in the third round of Group F at the 2006 edition. Ronaldo (twice), Juninho Pernambucano and Gilberto scored in a 4-1 win.
Brazil topped the group, eliminated Ghana in the Round of 16 (3-0), but fell to nemesis France in the quarterfinals (0-1).
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
