Japan's national football team, the Samurai Blue, faces Brazil in a crucial World Cup last-32 match. This encounter holds deep significance due to Brazil's profound influence on Japanese professional football, particularly through the J-League and the presence of numerous Brazilian players and coaches over the decades. Despite past successes against Brazil, including a recent friendly win, this World Cup clash represents a major test for Japan's ambitions.
Japan captain Wataru Endo has withdrawn from the World Cup squad due to injury in a blow for the Samurai Blue, with the midfielder also announcing his retirement from international football.
Japan's fans once again captured the world's admiration after clearing thrash from the stands following their Group F match against the Netherlands on Sunday.
In Tokyo's trendy Shibuya, elated supporters streamed out of sports bars after the final whistle at around 1 a.m. local time, the sound of horns and "Nippon" chants filling the streets as they converged upon the district's iconic pedestrian scramble.
Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman stood by his tactical decisions and substitutions after Japan struck late to earn a 2-2 draw in their opening Group F match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Sunday.
Five-times champions Brazil came back strongly from a one goal deficit to beat Japan 2-1 in their FIFA World Cup Round of 32 clash at the Houston Stadium on Monday.
Japan showed their battling qualities to eke out a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in their World Cup Group F opener on Sunday, as Hajime Moriyasu's side backed up their desire to make an impact at the tournament with a gritty display.
Morocco, Norway, Turkey, Colombia, Mexico and Japan are among the leading dark horses for FIFA World Cup 2026, with each side possessing the talent and momentum to challenge football's traditional powers.
The win guarantees Japan a top-two finish in the standings and sees them qualify for an eighth straight World Cup.
Japan's high-pressing style which undid Germany had briefly unsettled Spain on a few occasions in the first half.
Japan supporters lamented the team's 3-1 penalty shootout loss to Croatia at the World Cup in Qatar on Monday.
Tears of joy in Japan after nail-biting win over Spain
'Against Spain we are going for the win and that's what we need to focus on'
Captain Luca Modric, who with Ivan Perisic and Dejan Lovren forms a high class but ageing core to the team, says they fear no-one and they will have done their homework on the Samurai Blue.
When art steps off the canvas and onto the red carpet, the result is pure visual poetry.
It's not the first time that fans of the Samurai Blues have cleaned up stadia after matches.
War 2 offers you exactly what you'd expect from a mass entertainer: some escapist fun, some truly knockout action scenes, and overall a good time at the movies, observes Mayur Sanap.
Saudi Arabia took third place in Group C and will feature in a fourth phase of qualifiers in October alongside Indonesia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Oman.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group E match played between Spain and Japan on Thursday.
But their inability to close out the game proved costly, allowing Belgium to claw their way back into contention with two goals in five minutes before Nacer Chadli's injury-time winner capped the most thrilling game of the 2018 finals.
Qatar returns to the spotlight on Friday little more than a year after the first World Cup held in the Arab world when the relocated and delayed 2023 Asian Cup gets underway amid a seismic shift in football's global order.
The VAR system took several minutes to confirm the ball had not gone out before Mitoma's touch
Ratan was extremely ethical in his dealings, which he brought to bear on the business house which he helmed, remembers Sailesh Kottary.
apan, needing only a draw to reach the knockout phase of the World Cup, were being held to a goalless draw at halftime by already-eliminated Poland in their final Group H match on Thursday.
There's a spate of book-to-screen adaptations dominating OTT streaming this week. Sukanya Verma lists her recommendations.
Hajime Moriyasu's side, one of the favourites for the title, laboured throughout the opening 45 minutes and fell behind to a vicious long-range strike from Arslanmyrat Amanov that flew past goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda.
The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month
It was perhaps fitting that the World Cup match between Senegal and Japan - whose fans have received international acclaim for their cleanliness in the stadium - ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday in Yekaterinburg.
Almoez Ali scored a spectacular overhead kick for a record ninth goal of the tournament to set Qatar on their way to a first Asian Cup triumph with a stunning 3-1 win over four-times champions Japan on Friday.
It took a great escape in injury time to get there after being two goals down to Japan, but Belgium can now view their quarter-final against Brazil free of the weight of expectation.
Belgium go into Monday's World Cup last 16 match against Japan full of confidence but wary that relying on individual talent against similarly well-organised but less fancied teams has cost them dear in the past.
The FIFA World Cup knock-out phase kicks-off on Saturday in Qatar. Here's an overview of the teams advancing to the last 16.
Asia's representatives are once again heading home before the business end of the World Cup gets going.
Belgium passed a test of character with a display of true grit that bodes well for a World Cup quarter-final against Brazil, coach Roberto Martinez said after they came from 2-0 behind to beat Japan 3-2 in injury time.
Asian champions Japan became the first side to qualify for the World Cup finals in Brazil when playmaker Keisuke Honda scored an injury-time penalty to claim a 1-1 draw with Australia in Saitama on Tuesday.
Belgium have scored 14 goals in five matches and were hugely impressive in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil, with Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne combining to devastating effect to oust the five-times world champions.
Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni was left to rue a profligate forward line as the Blue Samurai blew a chance to become the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
Three moments of late magic helped Uzbekistan, Iraq and Qatar grab key 1-0 wins in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday as Asian champions Japan rode their luck before edging to the brink of a place in Brazil.
