Japan defeated Brazil 3:2 in a tense international friendly match in Singapore on November 14, punctuated by late goals and fiery red cards.
Takefusa Kubo opened the scoring on 15 minutes at the Singapore fixture. Keito Nakamura doubled the advantage four minutes later, according to Sport 24. The Asian side surged to a two-lead inside the opening 20 minutes.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team faced a difficult start. Pedro Morisco stood in for Alisson Becker. The Samurai Blue capitalized early through goals from Kubo and Nakamura within the first 19 minutes, as reported by Football24.
Brazil responded before halftime. Bruno Guimaraes fed Vinicius Junior. Vinicius fired a powerful long-range strike past the goalkeeper on 33 minutes to break his scoring drought, Football24 said. This was Vinicius’s first goal or assist for either Real Madrid or the national team in nearly two months, having last scored on September 29.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti introduced Shakhtar Donetsk players Marlon Gomes and Alisson Santana off the bench on 58 minutes for their first senior international appearances, Zerkalo Nedeli noted. Shakhtar players received call-ups to the Brazilian national team for the first time since 2018. Both players earned their places in the squad thanks to impressive performances in the Champions League. They entered the pitch to replace Andre and Estevao respectively.
Marlon Gomes took up a central position and completed 10 of 11 attempted passes. He is a 22-year-old midfielder bought from Vasco da Gama in January 2024 for 12 million euros.
Marlon Gomes said that reaching the national team represents the pinnacle of an athlete’s life and the chance of a lifetime. Alisson created attacking pressure down the right flank.
Vinicius leveled the score at 2:2 on 75 minutes by cutting inside from the wing to finish off the post, as detailed by Sport 24, following an earlier equalizer on the 33rd minute.
Japan secured the victory in stoppage time when Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored the winner following a physical challenge in midfield, Sport 24 said. Real Madrid forward Endrick also had an opportunity to snatch a late victory for the South Americans near the end of the match, but was unfortunate not to score.
The winning goal arrived in added time following a rough challenge in the center of the pitch that launched the decisive Japanese attack. The goal sparked furious protests from the Brazilian bench.
Players confronted the referee. Raphinha had been substituted on 71 minutes.
Raphinha and manager Ancelotti received straight red cards during the chaotic end to the match, according to UA.News. Security personnel were forced to protect the referee amid the intense emotional scenes.
