Sports · International friendliesJapan Brazil football: 3-2 win, late red cards and Moriyasu's exitWritten November 15, 2026 at 6:21 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:00JapanBrazil football, three minus two win, late red cards, and Moriasu's exit.0:06Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored his first international goal to beat Brazil in stoppage0:10time.0:11Japan won three, two after surrendering a two goal lead.0:14Earning only its second victory over Brazil in sixteen meetings, Brazil's captain0:18and coach were sent off after protesting the winner.0:21Japan's coaching handover and the full consequences of Brazil's protests are still0:25unresolved.0:26A crowd of thirty-eight, six hundred and eighty-eight watched the friendly at0:29Singapore National Stadium on November14.0:31The match formed part of the Mizuho Blue Challenge and Kalang Football Series, with0:35Japan ranked seventeenth and Brazil fifth before kickoff.0:38Four Japanese substitutes combined for the winner.0:41Kaisu Sano recovered possession high up the pitch and sent a low ball across from0:44the left.0:45Kokyogawa couldn't finish it, and Kode Sano's follow-up took a deflection.0:49The loose ball reached an unmarked Sakamoto close to goal.0:53He finished right, footed in the first minute of stoppage time.0:56The thirty-year old Coventry player back with the national side.0:59Had scored his first senior international goal.1:01Sakamoto had replaced Captain Ritsu Duen in the seventy-second minute.1:05Ogawa came on in the same round of changes.1:07Kaieshu Sano had replaced Takfusa Kubo ten minutes earlier, while Kodai Sano entered1:13in the eighty-sixth.1:14Every player involved in that decisive passage had come off the bench.1:17Kubo struck in the fifteenth minute, and Keito Nakamura made it two.1:21Null in the nineteenth.1:22Vin, CSJ Nior replied in the thirty-third and equalized in the seventy-fifth.1:27Sakamoto's goal at ninety plus one gave Japan the final response.1:30Duin helped unlock Brazil for both early goals.1:32First, Dyson Maeda kept possession in Japan's half.1:35Duan released Kubo, who drove forward from around halfway, and beat goalkeeper Pedro1:40Morisco with a low left footed shot.1:42Then Duan sent Shudo Nakano down the right.1:45Nakano cut the ball back.1:46Kubo let it run, and Nakamura finished.1:48The lion winger converted a chance supplied by the defender given a starting1:52opportunity.1:53Between those goals, Morisco saved from Maeda, who put the rebound wide.1:56Vin.1:57Sias brought Brazil back with two right-footed shots from outside the penalty area.2:01Bruno Guimarez supplied the first, which flew into the top corner.2:05For the equalizer, Vin, Sias cut inside after a short corner and struck both posts2:09before the ball crossed the line.2:11Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki had denied Est EV a one on one shortly before Brazil's2:16first goal.2:17Japan led two one at halftime.2:19Rafinha appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty after contact in the forty third2:23minute, and Suzuki saved another effort from him early in the second half.2:27Vin Sias reportedly arrived with one goal in twelve Real Madrid appearances this2:31season across all competitions.2:33His two goals for Brazil offered a sharp contrast with that club return, but Japan2:37still found the winner.2:38Brazil came close to taking the lead first.2:40Endric, who replaced Rafinha in the seventy first minute, struck the crossbar from2:44near the edge of the area around the eightieth.2:46Japan then made its last changes and found the winning combination.2:49Subscribe to this channel as Japan prepares its coaching handover, and Brazil faces2:53the consequences of those red cards.2:55Brazil still had eleven active players when Japan scored.2:58Descriptions of a ten man Brazil conflict with the substitution sequence.3:02Rafinha had already left the game, and both red cards came after Sakamoto's winner.3:07Brazil argued that Japan had fouled Joe Ogomas before the goal.3:10Referee Jansen Fu Chuanhui allowed it to stand.3:13Anseloti entered the field during the protests, and the referee dismissed him and3:16Rafinha in the second minute of stoppage time.3:18Rafinha's dismissal punished a player who'd already been replaced.3:22Anseloti's punished the coach.3:24Those cards left Brazil's active team unchanged.3:26They also followed the winning goal.3:28So the dismissals gave Japan no numerical advantage in scoring it.3:32Anselotti said the referee blamed him for losing control of the bench.3:35He also argued that the official lacked the experience to manage the match and that3:39his handling had affected the result.3:40Ancelotti acknowledged Brazil's poor start, but said his team played well for3:44seventy minutes.3:45He praised Japan's organization and intensity, particularly its work to stop3:49counterattacks, and said Brazil had reacted well enough to pursue victory.3:52Rafinha apologized for his red card but alleged several refereeing errors.3:56He claimed there had been a foul and a handball before Japan's opener, a penalty on4:00himself and a foul on Joe O'Gomez before the winner.4:04He acknowledged that current rules might explain the handball decision differently.4:07He also said video assistance had helped validate the winner.4:10He said the referee wasn't open to dialogue and called what happened unacceptable,4:14as remained his allegations.4:15The goal stood.4:16Brazil's confrontation continued after full time.4:19Team members tried to approach the officials, and security intervened to separate4:23them.4:23The protests followed a defeat that also changed the recent balance of this fixture.4:28Japan now has two senior victories over Brazil in16 meetings, with both coming in4:32thirteen months.4:33Singapore was its first outside Japan.4:36Its first ever win came in Tokyo, also three, two, after overturning a two goal4:41halftime deficit.4:42Brazil had answered that Tokyo defeat at the World Cup in Houston.4:45Kaichu Sano put Japan ahead in the round of thirty, two.4:49But Brazil equalized after halftime and won five minutes into added time.4:53Japan's tournament ended with a two, one defeat.4:55Brazil then lost two.4:57One to Norway in the World Cup round of sixteen, with Erling Holland scoring both5:01goals.5:01Before Singapore, Brazil drew one, one with Australia, beat Australia four, two, and5:07defeated India four nil.5:08Anseloti has therefore lost both these Japan-friendlies and a competitive match5:12against Norway.5:13He took charge in May2020 ,5 and stayed after the World Cup to prepare for2030 .5:18In Singapore, he was testing a substantially younger group.5:22Brazil's squad average age fell from29 .6 at the World Cup to23 .6 for this tour.5:28Fifteen of the26 players selected were23 or younger, as Anselotti began looking5:33toward the next tournament.5:34Only four Brazil starters had also started at the World Cup: Gabriel Megali S, Bruno5:38Guimar S, Vincius, and Rafinha.5:40Alison, Ederson, Marquinhos, and Gabriel Martinelli were absent.5:44Morisco,22 , was making his second appearance after starting the India win.5:49Jair Kuna and Carlos Augusto also received defensive opportunities.5:53Guimar A started after a week of reduced training load.5:56Ansolati had tried Reyan in an inside midfield role during preparations, but that6:00experiment didn't become a starting place against Japan.6:03Japan Captain Duen started with Kubo and Nakamura supporting Maeda.6:07A four, two, three, one had been the expected setup.6:10Japan's matchday group contained twenty-six players in total, including fifteen6:14reserves.6:15Kuriumatsuki and Shio Fukuta were left out.6:18Moriasu used nine substitutes, and the late changes delivered the victory.6:22He called it the best match of his eight years in charge.6:24He admitted fearing Brazil would score a third, but said his players kept fighting6:28to win rather than settle for a draw.6:30Moriasu is preparing to leave earlier than he'd intended.6:33He had planned to go after the Asian Cup campaign, but the tournament's postponement6:37changed that timing.6:38Asked whether he would stay, he said no.6:40Moriasu said his players had overcome something they couldn't manage against Brazil6:44at the World Cup.6:45Who succeeds him and exactly when the handover happens isn't clear yet.6:49Brazil's next fixture arrives with consequences from the protests still unfolding.6:53Japan faces Paraguay on Tuesday, November17 th.6:56Brazil plays Singapore the same day at the same stadium.6:59The red cards reportedly rule Rafinha out of that match and keep Anselati off the7:03bench.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
