After the 1-1 draw with Morocco and their lackluster—perhaps even poor—performance in their opening match of this year’s World Cup, Brazil bounced back with three-goal victories and clean sheets to now face Japan in the tournament’s Round of 32 (8:00 p.m.).
Carlo Ancelotti’s Carlo Ancelotti’s “Seleção”—led by Vinícius, with Matheus Cunha having an outstanding tournament and Neymar trying to regain his desired form— faces a team that has never recorded a positive result in the knockout stage of the World Cup.
Moriyasu’s Japanese squad is the clear underdog in the matchup against Brazil, and he remains concerned about Takefusa Kubo, who still can’t train normally, but Maeda wants to do his best in attack.
It’s too early for Rafinha to return to the Brazilian national team, but Bournemouth’s Rayyan has impressed and is expected to earn a spot in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting lineup!
Possible starting lineups
Brazil: Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Santos, Guimaraes, Casemiro, Rayan, Paquetá, Vinícius, Cunha
Japan: Suzuki, Ito, Tomiyasu, Itakura, Doan, Sano, Tanaka, Nakamura, Kamada, Maeda, Ueda
*photo source: AP
