Brazil came from behind to book their spot in the last 16 of the World Cup as Gabriel Martinelli's stoppage-time winner sealed a dramatic 2-1 triumph over Japan. 

Having fallen behind to Kaishu Sano's first-half finish, Brazil improved after the break and levelled through Casemiro, but they left it late to snatch victory at Houston Stadium. 

Substitute Martinelli steered home in the 95th minute to spark wild scenes, with Ivory Coast or Norway up next for Carlo Ancelotti's side. 

Brazil started brightly, with the in-form Matheus Cunha forcing Zion Suzuki into a low stop down to his right, and Bruno Guimaraes curled narrowly wide of the far post after being slipped in by Lucas Paqueta from the resulting corner. 

But Brazil found themselves behind in the 29th minute. Sano intercepted Danilo's loose pass and easily drove past Casemiro before flashing a drilled shot from the edge of the box past Alisson and into the bottom-left corner. 

Vinicius Junior and Cunha both tried their luck from distance as Japan's defence frustrated Brazil's star-studded attack, with Endrick replacing the injured Paqueta at the break. 

Brazil flew out of the blocks and spurned two glorious chances to draw level, but Suzuki brilliantly kept out Guimaraes' close-range header before Casemiro's effort was somehow blocked on the line by Takehiro Tomiyasu. 

However, Casemiro was not to be denied in the 56th minute when he nodded Gabriel Magalhaes' delivery to the back post into the net

The comeback was almost complete two minutes later, but after Vinicius' dazzling run, his stabbed shot was tipped onto the post by Suzuki. 

With extra time looming, though, Brazil's moment arrived when Ao Tanaka was robbed of possession on the edge of Japan's box. Guimaraes slipped in Martinelli, whose finish just beat Suzuki and clipped in off the right-hand post.

Casemiro a head above the rest as Guimaraes serves up Selecao magic

Brazil had been eliminated from four of their last six World Cup knockout stage matches ahead of facing Japan, and that number looked set to go higher after Sano netted his first international goal to put his team into a deserved lead. 

Ancelotti's side failed to have a first-half shot on target from inside the box for the first time in a World Cup match since their quarter-final defeat to Belgium in 2018, but presumably stern words from the Brazil boss at the break kicked them into gear. 

Their equaliser came from a familiar source in Casemiro. After scoring eight headed goals in 2025-26 for Manchester United, more than any other Premier League player in all competitions, he popped up with another one here. Five of his 10 goals for Brazil have been headed, too. 

And aged 34 years and 126 days, Casemiro is the second-oldest goalscorer for Brazil at the World Cup, behind only Bebeto in 1998 (34y 137d against Denmark), but it was his midfield partner in Guimaraes who helped set up the decisive blow. 

Guimaraes, who has been linked with a summer switch away from Newcastle United, now has the most assists of any player at the World Cup (four), with only Pele having more for Brazil in an edition of the tournament (six in 1970). He also finished with team-high totals for chances created (four). 

Despite Brazil's progression, they will know improvements are needed if they are to enjoy a deep run in the competition. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.72 from their 19 shots to Japan's 0.23 from their five attempts, as their wait for a knockout win at the World Cup goes on.