Suffered a last-minute defeat by Brazil! Japan's 28-year curse remains unbroken, still winless in World Cup knockout matches, as the manga fantasy fails to become reality.

In the second round of 16 match of the World Cup on June 30th Beijing time, Japan took an early lead but was reversed 1-2 by Brazil, ending their campaign at the round of 32. Over 28 years and eight World Cup appearances, they remain winless in knockout stages.[Watch the World Cup on Migu Video]

In this match, Japan enjoyed a dream start. In the 29th minute, Japan's highest-valued player, Sano Kaishu, capitalized on Danilo's mistake to steal the ball, then drove forward and unleashed a surprise long-range shot into the bottom corner, giving Japan the lead.

However, in the second half, Japan could not withstand Brazil's fierce comeback. Casemiro scored a header to equalize, and substitute Martinelli netted a last-minute winner in stoppage time.

Notably, in the manga "Captain Tsubasa" (World Youth arc), the Japanese youth team defeated Brazil 3-2 in the final to win the championship. However, this match's reversal and last-minute defeat proved that the manga did not become reality.

With this reversal by Brazil, Japan's World Cup journey for this edition has come to an end. Since their first appearance in 1998, Japan has qualified for eight consecutive World Cups, advanced from the group stage five times, but always stopped at the first knockout round, still without a single win.

Apart from this loss to Brazil, Japan was eliminated in penalty shootouts by Paraguay in 2010 and Croatia in 2022, and lost to Turkey in 2002 and Belgium in 2018.

In 28 years, Japan has still failed to overcome the first knockout round hurdle. Of course, in this World Cup, Japan was quite unlucky, drawing Brazil right after group stage. If they had faced another team, Japan, which is already considered a world-class second-tier team, might have had a real chance to break the curse.

Watch the World Cup on Migu Video. The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is in full swing. Go to Migu Video to watch all matches of the 48 teams.