Japan defeated Brazil by a score of 3-2 at the National Stadium on Saturday in Singapore despite Vinicius finding the back of the net twice, once in each half, with spectacular shots from outside the box. It was former Madrid winger Takefusa Kubo, playing in a more advanced second-striker role, who opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a powerful strike from inside the box that sailed past Brazilian goalkeeper Pedro Morisco’s near post. Lyon’s Keito Nakamura increased Japan’s lead just four
minutes later after receiving an excellent cross from right-back Shuto Nakano, who sprinted down the right flank before finding Nakamura just inside the top of the box. Nakamura’s shot to the right of Morisco eluded the outstretched hand of the Brazilian keeper.
Vinicius managed to halve Japan’s lead in the 33rd minute with a superb strike from outside the box. The Madrid winger ran toward the right side of the pitch to collect the ball from Bruno Guimarães and shoot between two Japanese defenders, seeing the ball sail past Aston Villa’s Zion Suzuki’s outstretched arm.
Vinicius equalized the match in the second half with another spectacular shot in the 75th minute from long distance. The Madrid star cut back inside from the left and unleashed a powerful strike that went past Suzuki, striking the Japanese keeper’s far post and then ricocheting off the other post before finding the back of the net. Vinicius also had two key passes in the match, including creating one of Brazil’s two big scoring chances.
It looked like the match would end in a tie, but Coventry’s Tatsuhiro Sakamoto led Japan to victory in the 91st minute, calmly collecting the ball following a rebound from PSV’s Kodai Sano’s shot from the top of the box and slotting it past Morisco. It is the second consecutive defeat for Brazil against Japan in 13 months; Japan also defeated the Seleção by the same 3-2 scoreline in Tokyo in October 2025. Brazil had won 12 of the previous 14 encounters between the two nations, the other two ending in draws.
Endrick came in off the bench in the 71st minute and, 10 minutes later, unleashed a dazzling shot from several meters outside the box that blasted off Suzuki’s right post. But the Madrid forward had little contribution outside that wonder-strike, having only six touches and two pass attempts in a little over 20 minutes off the bench.
