Martinelli's Stoppage-Time Winner Sends Brazil Past Japan and Into the Last 16

Al Jazeera · 2d ago

Brazil spent most of the afternoon chasing the game after Kaishu Sano's long-range strike put Japan ahead, before Casemiro leveled it midway through the second half. Gabriel Martinelli pounced on a Japanese giveaway deep into stoppage time to complete the 2-1 comeback in Houston. The five-time champions now head to MetLife Stadium for a last-16 meeting with the winner of Norway and Ivory Coast, the latest reminder that this Brazil squad keeps needing late heroics to survive.