Their tournament
how their World Cup unfoldedJapan held their own against Brazil for the better part of an hour, Sano's 29th-minute opener giving them genuine belief before Casemiro levelled midway through the second half. It was Martinelli's stoppage-time winner that delivered the cruellest of exits — a Samurai Blue side that had navigated Group F without defeat ultimately undone in the final seconds of a Round of 32 tie they had come agonisingly close to taking further.
Results
Group F runners-up
Knocked out- R32Mon Jun 29 10:00PT🇧🇷Brazil1–2
Group F standings
how the group finishedGroup F
Final| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇳🇱Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +6 | 7 | Group winner | |
| 2 | 🇯🇵Japan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +4 | 5 | Runner-up | |
| 3 | 🇸🇪Sweden | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 4 | Best third | |
| 4 | 🇹🇳Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -10 | 0 | Out |
Squad
starting XI from Japan at Brazil in boldGoalkeepers
- 1Zion Suzuki23
- 12Keisuke Osako27
- 23Tomoki Hayakawa27
Defenders
- 3Shogo Taniguchi35
- 21Hiroki Ito27
- 22Takehiro Tomiyasu27
- 2Yukinari Sugawara26
- 4Kou Itakura29
- 5Yuto Nagatomo39
- 16Tsuyoshi Watanabe29
- 20Ayumu Seko26
- 25Junnosuke Suzuki23
Midfielders
- 10Ritsu Doan28
- 15Daichi Kamada30
- 24Kaishu Sano25
- 6Wataru Endo33
- 7Ao Tanaka27
- 17Yuito Suzuki24
Forwards
- 11Daizen Maeda28
- 13Keito Nakamura26
- 14Junya Ito33
- 18Ayase Ueda27
- 8Takefusa Kubo25
- 9Keisuke Goto21
- 19Koki Ogawa29
- 26Kento Shiogai21