Japan 3-2 Brazil: Sakamoto nets late winner in thrilling friendly contest

Substitute Tatsuhiro Sakamoto netted a stoppage-time winner as Japan stunned Brazil 3-2 in an international friendly at National Stadium.

Vinicius Junior thought he had salvaged a draw after his brace cancelled out early goals from Takefusa Kubo and Keita Nakamura, but Sakamoto had the final say in a dramatic finale in Singapore.

Japan had Brazil on the back foot 15 minutes in, when Carlo Ancelotti's side lost possession on the halfway line, and Kubo shook off Jair Cunha to pick out the bottom-right corner.

Daizen Maeda had a one-on-one with Pedro Morisco moments later; his first attempt was smothered, but it bounced back to him, though his follow-up dink was narrowly wide.

But Japan doubled their lead in the 19th minute as Shuto Nakano pulled it back from the right byline to the unmarked Nakamura just inside the box, and he swept it into the back of the net.

Vinicius halved the deficit in the 33rd minute with a stunning strike; Estevao's saved shot was recycled, and the Real Madrid man arrowed a long-range effort into the top-left corner.

Zion Suzuki denied Andre on the stroke of half-time, with the goalkeeper also alert minutes into the second half to keep out Raphinha at his near post.

Brazil looked the bigger threat in the second half, and Vinicius made it count as he cut inside to convert from a short Bruno Guimaraes corner in the 75th minute.

Endrick then rattled the crossbar as Brazil pushed for a winner, but that would come courtesy of Sakamoto after Guimaraes lost possession in midfield. It was chaos in the Selecao’s box, but it bounced kindly to the substitute, who rifled past Morisco in the 91st minute.

But the drama was not yet over, as both Ancelotti and the already substituted Raphinha took issue with the goal, believing there was a foul in the build-up, and they received straight red cards for their protests.

Japan undo Brazil's hard work

The last time these two sides faced off, it was Brazil who were triumphant thanks to a late goal as they knocked Japan out of the World Cup in the last 32 by winning 2-1, thanks to Gabriel Martinelli's 96th-minute winner.

Before Sakamoto scored, the momentum had seemingly been with Brazil, who were looking to continue their unbeaten run since the tournament (W2 D1).

Vinicius, who has had a tumultuous season at club level so far in 2026-27, not helped by a lengthy suspension for a hair pull, looked to be the saving grace for Brazil.

He had four of their 17 shots, and netted two stunning goals, while he also created two chances (only bettered by Guimaraes' six) and attempted a team-high five dribbles.

But Japan had given more than enough warnings, with their quickfire first-half double showing the holes in Brazil's defence as Ancelotti took the chance to look at Morisco in goal.

The Selecao were all over the place for the winner as well, though Ancelotti and Raphinha will both be serving suspensions for their next friendly against Singapore on Tuesday after tempers flared in the build-up to it, despite it being a fair challenge on Guimaraes.