Japan notched its first ever victory against Brazil on Tuesday evening at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, engineering a storming second-half comeback to win the friendly fixture 3-2.
In a match marked by defensive breakdowns on both sides, Samurai Blue was able to overturn a two-goal deficit and extend its home unbeaten streak to 21 games. Brazil was coming off a 5-0 win over South Korea at the weekend, while Japan only drew 2-2 with Paraguay on Saturday thanks to a last-minute equalizer.
Japan’s best production in the first half came through a creative link-up play between Ritsu Doan and Takefusa Kubo down the right flank. That led to the best chance of the game at 0-0 in the 22nd minute, with a Takumi Minamino flick from a Doan cross that Ayase Ueda couldn’t quite stretch to tap in at the far post.
