Brazil face Japan in the first knockout match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for both sides at the Houston Stadium on Monday. Brazil are the most succesfull team in the history of the tournament, having won the World Cup five times, but the last time they won was in 2002 and since then, they have managed to reach the semi-finals just once – the infamous 1-7 loss to Germany at the Maracana.
Brazil arrive in the Round of the Group C winners. They drew 1-1 against Morocco in their first match, a result that drew a lot of worried responses from back home and from vast legions of fans that they boast around the world, including in India. However, they followed that up with 3-0 wins over Haiti and Scotland.
Japan, on the other hand, started with a thrilling 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, after which they thrashed Tunisia 4-1. This was followed by a 1-1 draw against Sweden, which meant that Japan finished second in Group F.