Brazil vs Japan Preview

Monday evening at NRG Stadium in Houston delivers one of the standout Round of 32 clashes as Brazil face Japan in a knockout tie that few would have predicted at the tournament’s outset. Brazil topped Group C in impressive fashion, registering seven goals across their three matches. Japan came through Group F in second place behind the Netherlands, with a five-point haul built on a stunning 4–0 win over Tunisia and two competitive draws against the Dutch and Sweden. One side’s World Cup ends here.

Brazil were the dominant force in Group C and have looked every inch a contender. Their most recent outing was a composed 3–0 win away against Scotland on 24th June — a clinical performance that wrapped up top spot with a game to spare. Prior to that, they beat Haiti 3–0 at home on 20th June in a straightforward display of quality. Earlier in this run, a 1–1 draw at home to Morocco on 13th June was their only dropped point of the group stage, and pre-tournament friendlies showed further promise — a 2–1 home win over Egypt on 6th June and a 6–2 home demolition of Panama on 31st May. Brazil finished Group C top on seven points with a goal difference of +6, ahead of Morocco who matched their points tally but trailed on goal difference.

Japan have been one of the most exciting sides to watch in the group stage and will not arrive here with any sense of inferiority. Their most recent outing was a 1–1 draw at home against Sweden on 26th June — a point they will consider dropped in the group, however it proved enough to see them through in second place. Prior to that, they produced arguably the result of the tournament’s group stage with a 4–0 thrashing away against Tunisia on 21st June. Earlier in this run, a 2–2 draw away against the Netherlands on 14th June — a game in which they twice came back — showed their character under pressure. Pre-tournament, a 1–0 home win over Iceland on 31st May and a 1–0 win away in England on 31st March confirmed a team in excellent form. Japan finished second in Group F on five points with a goal difference of +4, behind the Netherlands who took seven.

The head-to-head record heavily favours Brazil, who have won four of the last five meetings with Japan winning the other. Most recently however, Japan pulled off a shock result — beating Brazil 3–2 at home in a friendly in October 2025. In the previous encounter, Brazil won 1–0 away in Japan in June 2022.

In the UK, the match is covered on TalkSport Radio UK and BBC Radio 5 Live. In Brazil, the game is live on SporTV, Globo, GloboPlay, and CazéTV. Japanese audiences can follow on DAZN Japan. US viewers can catch the action on FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo, and Telemundo Deportes En Vivo.

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Possible Lineups

Brazil (4-3-3) Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Santos, Casemiro, Guimarães, Paquetá, Vinicius, Cunha, Rayan

Japan (3-4-2-1) Suzuki, Itakura, Nakamura, Ito, Maeda, Kamada, Tanaka, Sugawara, Doan, Seko, Ueda

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Group C Table

Pos.	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Brazil	3	2	1	0	7	1	+6	7
2	Morocco	3	2	1	0	6	3	+3	7
3	Scotland	3	1	0	2	1	4	-3	3
4	Haiti	3	0	0	3	2	8	-6	0

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Brazil Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Scotland	0–3	Brazil	World Cup	24-06-26
✅	Brazil	3–0	Haiti	World Cup	20-06-26
🤝	Brazil	1–1	Morocco	World Cup	13-06-26
✅	Brazil	2–1	Egypt	Friendly	06-06-26
✅	Brazil	6–2	Panama	Friendly	31-05-26

Group F Table

Pos.	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Netherlands	3	2	1	0	10	4	+6	7
2	Japan	3	1	2	0	7	3	+4	5
3	Sweden	3	1	1	1	7	7	0	4
4	Tunisia	3	0	0	3	2	12	-10	0

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Japan Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
🤝	Japan	1–1	Sweden	World Cup	26-06-26
✅	Tunisia	0–4	Japan	World Cup	21-06-26
🤝	Netherlands	2–2	Japan	World Cup	14-06-26
✅	Japan	1–0	Iceland	Friendly	31-05-26
✅	England	0–1	Japan	Friendly	31-03-26

Head-to-Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Japan	3–2	Brazil	Friendly	14-10-25
Japan	0–1	Brazil	Friendly	06-06-22
Japan	1–3	Brazil	Friendly	10-11-17
Japan	0–4	Brazil	Friendly	14-10-14
Brazil	3–0	Japan	Friendly	15-06-13

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TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	TalkSport Radio UK, BBC Radio 5 Live
Ireland Republic	RTE 2, RTE Player, BBC Radio 5 Live
Brazil	SporTV, Globo, GloboPlay, SBT, CazéTV, Disney+ Premium Brazil
Japan	DAZN Japan
USA	FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, FOX One
France	M6, beIN Sports 1, M6+, myCANAL
Germany	ORF eins, SRF zwei, MagentaTV
Australia	SBS, SBS On Demand
Canada	TSN+, TSN1, RDS
Spain	DAZN Spain