Key events
90+1 min Casemiro gets up but only to walk off, clutching his groin. I do hope that’s not the end of his tournament.
89 min Casemiro is sitting on the ground, getting some attention from the physio. It looks as if Fabinho may come on to replace him.
88 min Rayan wins another free kick from J Suzuki, who is flirting with a red card here. His blushes are spared by Z Suzuki, who comes out to meet the free kick with a firm punch. Vini Jr has a shot, deflected wide. The shot count is now 16-5.
87 min In a shock development, Japan head upfield. They even surprise themselves but fail to trouble Alisson.
85 min The free kick is well struck, by Rayan I think, and headed over by a defender. The corner leads to a half-chance for Guimaraes, another for his collection. He goes for an ambitious chip with the outside of his right foot, which goes wide.
84 min Japan go ahead in the other contest, for most yellow cards. They’re now 3-2 up as Rayan bursts down the right and J Suzuki brings him down.
82 min Yet more possession for Brazil, but it’s all too slow.
“As we say at Arsenal,” advises Peter Mumola, “just use Big Gabi (Magalhaes) and Little Gabi (Martinelli).”
80 min The official attendance is 68,000 – and now, as throughout, it sounds like more than that.
78 min Two more subs for Japan: off go Junya Ito and Kamada (of Palace), on come Machino and Tanaka (of Leeds).
75 min Brazil are dominating the ball again, which means both sides are playing to their strengths. Martinelli tries a shot, but it loops wide.
73 min Another fine cross from Gabriel (Magalhaes, not Martinelli) leads to a Brazil corner, but nothing comes of it.
72 min Martinelli’s first contribution is a foul. He seems to be playing in left midfield, with Endrick up front.
Hydration break! Brazil 1-1 Japan
We can probably all agree on one thing: the third quarter of the game was won by Brazil. In fact, by Carlo Ancelotti.
65 min Subs for Japan, too, as Moriyasu replaces both his wing-backs, Doan and Nakamura. They’ve been extra full-backs a lot of the time and they may well be knackered. On come Sugawara and Junnosuke Suzuki.
The Suzukis are a bit like the Bellinis of Venice, as described in Brideshead Revisited. “Which of the Bellinis did you like best?” Laurence Olivier asked Jeremy Irons in the Channel 4 version.
“I didn’t know there were two.”
Olivier, triumphantly: “There are three!”
65 min Gabriel Martinelli seems to be coming on – not for Vini Jr, surely? No, for Cunha, so maybe Vini will move into the middle.
63 min Now it’s Rayan who makes his presence felt in the inside-right channel. But the next attempt on goal comes at the other end as Ueda drills a shot in from the left, saved by Alisson.
61 min Half an hour to go, and at this rate we may get another half-hour after that. The goal was Casemiro’s tenth for Brazil, in his 90th appearance. And it was yet another feather in Ancelotti’s cap: so many people would have taken Casemiro off.
59 min Casemiro was lurking on the six-yard line, played onside – just – by the nearest defender. For the first time, Japan’s rearguard put a foot wrong.
58 min Brazil hit the post! Also, save!! It’s Vini Jr, dancing through the area, and flicking with the outside of his right foot. And it’s Suzuki, doing just enough to keep it out.
57 min “Yes!” says Zafar Sobhan. “The traffic cone!”
GOOALL! Brazil 1-1 Japan (Casemiro 55)
Yes, it really is Casemiro. With a header, from a great chip by Gabriel.
53 min Chances at both ends! Casemiro, so good in the air, has a diving header cleared off the line. Then Japan race off on the counter, with Brazil’s ageing legs unable to keep up, and blow a chance to make it 2-0.
51 min Chance for Guimaraes! A lovely chip from Danilo, a meaty header – but straight at Suzuki.
50 min Endrick sneaks into the area, only to let Cunha down with a loose ball. On the touchline, Neymar is warming up, pour encourager les autres.
49 min A second yellow card for Brazil as Danilo puts an arm in a face. He looks dismayed but it’s fair enough. I make it 2-2 in terms of yellows.
48 min Endrick gets an early touch, combining crisply with Cunha, and Brazil already look more direct.
46 min Carlo Ancelotti has sent on a sub. But not for Casemiro – off goes Lucas Paqueta, and on goes Endrick. That should raise the temperature in this air-con cathedral.
“Hey again,” says Mariana Berg, who last appeared at 17:26 BST. “I just wanted to thank you for mentioning that ‘Sano is Japan’s Thomas Partey, a man accused of rape.’ You and your colleagues are doing such a great job, not just at giving us great articles and MBMs with great humour, but also addressing these issues that are not always talked about.
“I have to tell you, it is so frustrating, watching football as a woman and wanting to cheer on the players and countries, but also so darn frequently having to learn that some people in front of and behind the scenes are pigs. It’s like listening to music, or watching films, or … well, you know, basically all areas of life.”
“I play on an Over-30 pub team,” says Russell Eberts, “and I’m not sure I would pick Casemiro in our midfield. The only consistent part of his game these days is picking up obvious yellow cards.”
To be fair, he was good for Man United this past season, and even better once Michael Carrick arrived. Just put it on his head!
“This game is electrifying,” says Kev the Poet, “but the commentary from Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon is like two men comparing tins of emulsion paint.” The similes are on fire.
“I’m one of those,” says Gregory Phillips, “who’ve always wondered — perhaps unfairly — how much of Ancelotti’s success has come from having already-great teams and players at his disposal. Very interested to see if he can influence the outcome here.
“I have my doubts — both about his tactical nous and Brazil’s capacity to do much differently — but I’m excited to see what they do.”
“I’m glad Casemiro seems to be living up to my pre-match billing,” says Richard Hirst, “although I would like to apologise to traffic cones everywhere for the rather demeaning comparison.”
HALF-TIME! Brazil 0-1 Japan
Not only do Japan have a shock lead, thanks to Kaishu Sano’s rasping drive. They have preserved it for 20 minutes with little difficulty. Their defending has been a masterclass.
45+3 min We’re having four extra minutes, ie only one on top of the hydration quota. Japan are still hell-bent on improving their possession stats, which have rocketed from 23 to 33 in the past five minutes.
45 min Finally Brazil threaten to counter and Kamada takes a yellow card for the team. “Without the ball,” says Lee Dixon, “Brazil are shocking.”
41 min Japan’s turn to have the ball for a bit. They get a cross in from the right, then the left. Nothing doing, but more grist for Don Carlo’s mill at half-time.
“Are you sure there are only 11 Japanese players on the field?” says Krish. “This is some anaconda level of defending. They are squeezing the life out of Brazil.”
40 min Another bad moment for Casemiro, who has his pocket picked all too easily by Maeda, and may be relieved to see the thief run out of room on the right.
37 min Lucas Paqueta and Matheus Cunha have a spat about runs or the lack of them. Cunha does get a shot away just after that, but it’s another tame one.
35 min Brazil are playing with urgency now, twisting and flicking as if it was the 85th minute, not the 35th. But the Japanese are defending as if their lives depended on it. Doan, who was playing as a forward the other day, is putting in a hell of a shift as the second right-back.
34 min Brazil, stung into action, get Vini Jr into the game. He drifts inside, away from his three markers, and takes a shot from the D that is easily saved.
33 min Sano is Japan’s Thomas Partey, a man accused of rape. (The charge was reportedly dropped after a large payment was made to the victim.) And, more trivially, he could have been sent off in this game after arguably fouling Cunha when already on a yellow. But he may now be a hero in Japan. That was his first goal in international football.
30 min There was a bit of ping-pong in midfield, but then, suddenly, Sano was off and running. He went past Casemiro as if he wasn’t there and drilled a right-foot shot into the far corner. Game on!
GOOOALLLL! Brazil 0-1 Japan (Sano, 29)
And it’s a cracker!
27 min Chance for Japan! A corner comes in and Ayase Ueda, their striker, jumps high, only to send his header over the bar.
26 min Hydration email! “Why are Japan wearing their white away kit when there would have been no colour clash if they had worn their normal blue?” asks Cathal Chu. “Premier League sides wearing the second or third kits when there’s no clash because they’re contracted to wear that kit a number of times a year is one of my biggest pet peeves.” Cathal, you are not alone.
Hydration break! Brazil 0-0 Japan
Brazil have been the better team, but not by much. They’ve had 74 per cent of the ball and four of the five shots – but only one on target. Moriyasu may even be the happier of the two managers.
23 min Cunha bursts down the left and goes down in the face of a challenge from Sano. The Italian ref doesn’t see anything in it.
21 min A crossfield ball finds Vini Jr near the byline, but the threat is soon snuffed out. Ancelotti looks mildly perturbed. He’s in a cardigan under his suit, while Moriyasu is in a waistcoat. Remind you of anyone?
17 min Japan are in the Brazilian half again, but there’s a handball against Junya Ito, who then joins Doan behind him in doubling up on Vini Jr. And that’s before Vini gets to Tomiyasu at the back. I suspect he’ll find a way through, but it may take a while.
17 min “Vinicius has hardly had a kick,” says Lee Dixon. He sees it as a sign that Japan’s wing-backs are working.
