Late Martinelli goal sends Brazil past Japan at World Cup

Gabriel Martinelli scored in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 win over Japan in the World Cup round of 32 in Houston on Monday, according to The Associated Press. The result moved the five-time champions into the last 16 and ended Japan’s latest bid for a first knockout-stage win at a World Cup.

Martinelli entered as a second-half substitute before delivering the decisive goal with extra time looming, AP reported. Brazil will play either Ivory Coast or Norway on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the round of 16.

Japan went in front in the 29th minute through Kaishu Sano, according to AP. Sano won possession after a wayward Brazil pass in midfield and struck a right-footed shot from above the semicircle to put Japan ahead.

Brazil answered in the 56th minute through Casemiro, AP reported. Gabriel Magalhaes set up the equalizer, and Casemiro’s header beat Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki after the midfielder had gone close two minutes earlier.

The Associated Press reported that Brazil had pressed for a way back early in the second half before Casemiro scored. Suzuki stopped a Bruno Guimaraes header in the 52nd minute, then Casemiro’s next header struck a defender’s head and Suzuki’s face.

Vinicius Junior, who has four goals in the tournament, also had a chance to put Brazil ahead in the 58th minute, according to AP. His shot from the left was deflected by Suzuki and went wide of the far post.

Brazil extend edge in the matchup

The victory was Brazil’s 12th in 15 matches against Japan, AP reported. The teams have drawn twice, while Japan recorded its first win over Brazil in a friendly in Tokyo in October.

AP noted that Monday’s match paired countries with long-standing links. Brazil is home to about 2.7 million people of Japanese descent, the largest Japanese population outside Japan.

Those football ties include Zico, the Brazilian great who moved to Japan in 1991 to play for Kashima Antlers and helped develop the country’s professional football network, according to AP. Zico later coached Japan from 2002 to 2006 and led the national team at the 2006 World Cup.

The only previous World Cup meeting between Brazil and Japan came in 2006, when Brazil won 4-1, AP reported. Monday’s game also fell on the anniversary of Brazil’s first World Cup title in 1958 in Sweden, where 17-year-old Pele scored twice in the final against the host nation.

Brazil reached the knockout round after winning Group C, according to AP. The team drew with Morocco and beat Haiti and Scotland.

Japan advanced as Group F runner-up after draws against the Netherlands and Sweden and a win over Tunisia, AP reported. The defeat to Brazil ended a 10-match unbeaten run that had dated to a 2-0 loss to the United States in September.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.