Key events
“So excited for this one,” says Thomas Krantz, “even though I think Brazil will win it in normal time. I just hope Japan doesn’t wait to turn on the ignition until they are behind, as has happened in their previous games. Also, what Taylor Swift song will best caption this game? I will go with You’re On Your Own, Kid, which is probably what Ancelotti is saying to Vini right now.”
And here it is. But I believe there’s a little-known rule stating that we’re only allowed to link to one Taylor Swift song in each World Cup match, so that’s your lot.
And here’s Simon McMahon. “Afternoon Tim. I echo the previous sentiments regarding the MBM. A strange, yet familiar, community.” That’s us!
“I have no insight to offer, so will leave that to others, but I think I’m safe in saying that Japan will provide Brazil with a sterner examination than Scotland did. A seven-goal thriller would be nice.”
That’s enough backslapping – we have a less satisfied customer. “Ah Tim, why do you bring up the heartbreak again?” asks Mariana Berg, quoting my line about Brazil winning easily the only other time they met Japan at the World Cup (4-1 in Germany, 20 years ago). “It still hurts.” Sorry!
“I hadn’t ever watched a big football event before, but having been an avid manga and anime fan, I was excited to watch Japan in the World Cup 2006 in my home country.
“What I remember is that – to my recollection – at that time Japan’s one goal had been the first goal against Brazil since the autumn of 2005 or so, so … result! And then the heartbreak.
“I’ll watch the game today from the same place as 2006, Berlin, and look forward to revenge a good game.” Ha.
“Reporting from Chicago, IL,” says Rajat Khandelwal. “Long time lurker across sports, first time poster.” Congratulations on opening your account.
“MBMs are often more fun than the games themselves, mixing in niche references which send me down rabbit holes with exhilarating text in bold for goals and wickets providing a fun break from my day job.” We aim to exhilarate.
“Rooting for the Asian and African teams to win it all! Go Japan and Morocco!”
“Consensus,” exclaims Richard Hirst, “get thee behind me! If they weren’t called Brazil would we be so readily predicting victory for a team whose playmaker spent most of last season failing to prevent West Ham being relegated, whose defensive midfielder has all the mobility of a traffic cone, whose…… well, you get my drift.
“Yes, they’ll probably win, but if Japan get in amongst them there could be a surprise.” For sure.
Outside the World Cup bubble, Manchester City have confirmed the identity of their new manager. To nobody’s surprise, it’s Enzo Maresca. Our man in Manchester, Jamie Jackson, has been working out what he needs to do.
“I would second the comment about MBMs,” says Allan Castle, taking the baton from Tiago. “Yesterday, while hosting a watch party for the Canada v South Africa game at our home here in British Columbia, we became aware at a certain point that the game was not necessarily of the highest quality. Every now and then, I would amuse the crowd by saying, ‘Let’s see what the English think of this,’ and reading out the latest wry comment to roars of laughter / looks of incomprehension. (Canada had the last laugh, mind you.)
“By all that, I simply mean to say that for decades now these reports have been a lifeline and a source of good fun. Thank you to you and your colleagues for your excellent work, and long may you continue.” Well thank you, Allan. It’s about 99% my colleagues, led by the great Rob Smyth and Scott Murray. But I hope I can speak for us all when I say that being read aloud at watch parties in British Columbia is beyond our wildest dreams.
The teams
After hammering the Scots, Carlo Ancelotti sees no reason to change a winning team. Hajime Moriyasu goes the other way, making four changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Sweden. Two of them are in the back three, where Takehiro Tomiyasu (once of Arsenal) and Shogo Toniguchi come in for Ayumu Seko and Ko Itakura. One is in the pivot, where Kaishu Sano edges out Ao Tanaka. And one is more complicated – Junya Ito comes in at inside-right, displacing Ritsu Doan, who shifts to right wing-back at the expense of Yukinan Sugawara.
Brazil (4-3-3) Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Santos; Guimaraes, Casemiro, Paqueta; Rayan, Cunha, Vinicius Jr.
Japan (3-4-2-1) Zion Suzuki; Tomiyasu, Toniguchi, Hiroki Ito; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Junya Ito, Maeda; Ueda.
“It may be 33-34 degrees in Houston,” says Leo Addor, “but NRG Stadium is a covered NFL facility with AC. In fact, the guys pitchside on Globo Brazilian TV estimated it’s about 21-22 degrees where they stand. So the heat is not a factor here.”
Point taken – I did add AC after writing that. Glad to hear it’s 21, not 15. My last experience in an American stadium was reviewing Taylor Swift in Phoenix, Arizona. On a sweltering evening, it was so cold inside the stadium that I very nearly bought a Taylor Swift hoodie.
And now we have an email from Brazil. “Love the minute-by-minute reports,” says Tiago Maranhao. Thanks! “I’m writing from Ponta Grossa just to let you know that here in Brazil a knockout stage is called a ‘mata-mata’ stage (‘mata-mata’ would translate as ‘kill-kill’).
“Also, that 3-2 was the first (and only) time we lost a match after leading 2–0. By the way, here’s another bit of Brazilian football slang: when a team loses a match after scoring the opening goal, we call it a ‘virada’ (a turnaround).
“Japan is looking sleek, and this is probably the worst squad we’ve ever sent to a World Cup, but, still, I think we’ll beat them, 3-1.” A consensus seems to be emerging.
We have an early email! It’s from Krish Krishnamoorthy, an old friend of this parish. “Japan is not against Brazil,” he says firmly, “but against Don Carlo today and that would make all the difference. I predict a 1-3.”
You may well be right, Krish, but let’s not forget the man whose hand Ancelotti will shortly be shaking. Hajime Moriyasu has been Japan’s manager for eight years and has won no fewer than 74 of his 107 games in charge, if his Wikipedia page is to be believed.
The last (and first) World Cup match I covered took four hours. That was France v Iraq, the game that, thanks to lightning in Philadelphia, had a two-hour half-time. But lightning doesn’t strike twice and the BBC forecast assures us that Houston will be “sunny with a gentle breeze”. Quite toasty too: 33 or 34 degrees – but the NRG Stadium has air-con.
This place hosted five group games, divided into two distinct types. Three were thrashings: Germany 7-1 Curacao, Netherlands 5-1 Sweden, Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan. But the other two were cagey affairs: Portugal 1-1 DR Congo, Cape Verde 0-0 Saudi Arabia. Can we agree that today’s game could go either way?
Pre-match reading
It feels as if everyone in football knows Carlo Ancelotti, but Rodrygo, of Real Madrid and Brazil, knows him better than most. Ancelotti, he believes, is “driven by a phenomenal coherence”. Not something that can be said of every manager.
Preamble
Hello everyone and welcome to the 74th game of this World Cup. We’re in the home straight now: only another 20 days to go! But the round of 32 has done some good matchmaking and this pairing looks like a case in point.
It’s Brazil, the past masters of the World Cup, against Japan, whose first tournament was only in 1998. Brazil will expect to go through, obviously: they won easily the only other time they met Japan at the World Cup (4-1 in Germany, 20 years ago) and in 14 meetings in all, they have 11 wins and just one defeat. But that defeat came on the last occasion, eight months ago, when Japan went 2-0 down in a friendly on home soil and somehow ended up winning 3-2. So, Casemiro, Vini – you have been warned.
Japan showed much of the same resilience the other day, when they twice went behind to the Netherlands and twice came up with an equaliser. They are unbeaten in this tournament – but then so are Brazil. This may take more than 90 minutes. Kick-off is at 12 noon in Houston, 1pm EST, 6pm BST.
