The second match of the FIFA World Cup round of 32 is upon us as Brazil take on Japan, and you can follow it live with ESPN.
Carlo Ancelotti's men will go in as favourites after finishing their group stage with a flourish, but will meet a Japanese side who are themselves unbeaten so far in the tournament -- and won out 3-2 over the Seleção when they met last year.
- Brazil manager Ancelotti won't engage in Japan's 'mind games'
- Takefusa Kubo out vs Brazil but Japan eager to 'change history' at World Cup
Brazil topped Group C after an unbeaten campaign, opening with a draw against Morocco before comfortable 3-0 victories over Haiti and Scotland secured first place with seven points.
The five-time world champions have yet to concede since their opening match and arrive in the knockout stage having scored six goals across their final two group games -- with VinĂcius JĂșnior on song for the Selecao, with four to his name so far, while Neymar made his first tournament appearance in their 3-0 win over Scotland.
The Samurai Blue are looking to build on a group stage which saw them defeat Tunisia 4-0 and battle to draws against both Netherlands and Sweden -- their latter result booking their place in the round of 32. They will be anxious to banish their misery in the knockouts, having reached the last 16 in both 2018 and 2022 -- but never going further.
And they will still be without Takefusa Kubo, who hasn't appeared since their tournament opener -- but retain plenty of threat going forward including Daizen Maeda and their No. 9 Ayase Ueda -- both of whom have two already in the competition.
When the two sides met in Tokyo in October 2025, Ueda was among the scorers as Japan recovered from a 2-0 half-time deficit to beat the South American side for the first time.
Carlo Ancelotti's men will go in as favourites after finishing their group stage with a flourish, but will meet a Japanese side who are themselves unbeaten so far in the tournament -- and won out 3-2 over the Seleção when they met last year.
- Brazil manager Ancelotti won't engage in Japan's 'mind games'
- Takefusa Kubo out vs Brazil but Japan eager to 'change history' at World Cup
Brazil topped Group C after an unbeaten campaign, opening with a draw against Morocco before comfortable 3-0 victories over Haiti and Scotland secured first place with seven points.
The five-time world champions have yet to concede since their opening match and arrive in the knockout stage having scored six goals across their final two group games -- with VinĂcius JĂșnior on song for the Selecao, with four to his name so far, while Neymar made his first tournament appearance in their 3-0 win over Scotland.
The Samurai Blue are looking to build on a group stage which saw them defeat Tunisia 4-0 and battle to draws against both Netherlands and Sweden -- their latter result booking their place in the round of 32. They will be anxious to banish their misery in the knockouts, having reached the last 16 in both 2018 and 2022 -- but never going further.
And they will still be without Takefusa Kubo, who hasn't appeared since their tournament opener -- but retain plenty of threat going forward including Daizen Maeda and their No. 9 Ayase Ueda -- both of whom have two already in the competition.
When the two sides met in Tokyo in October 2025, Ueda was among the scorers as Japan recovered from a 2-0 half-time deficit to beat the South American side for the first time.
