Japan 3-2 Brazil: Sakamoto nets late winner in thrilling friendly contest

Substitute Tatsuhiro Sakamoto netted a stoppage-time winner as Japan stunned Brazil 3-2 in an international friendly at the National Stadium.

Vinicius Junior thought he had salvaged a draw after his brace cancelled out early goals from Takefusa Kubo and Keito Nakamura, but Sakamoto had the final say in a dramatic finale in Singapore.

Japan had Brazil on the back foot 15 minutes in, when head coach Carlo Ancelotti's side lost possession on the halfway line, and Kubo shook off Jair Cunha to pick out the bottom-right corner.

Daizen Maeda had a one-on-one with Pedro Morisco moments later; his first attempt was smothered, but it bounced back to him, though his follow-up dink was narrowly wide.

But Japan doubled their lead in the 19th minute as Shuto Nakano pulled it back from the byline to the unmarked Nakamura just inside the box, and he swept it into the back of the net.

Vinicius halved the deficit in the 33rd minute with a stunning strike, as the Real Madrid man arrowed a long-range effort into the corner.

Zion Suzuki denied André on the stroke of half-time, with the goalkeeper also alert minutes into the second half to keep out Raphinha at his near post.

Brazil looked the bigger threat in the second half, and Vinicius made it count as he cut inside to convert following a corner in the 75th minute.

Endrick then rattled the crossbar as Brazil pushed for a winner, but that would come courtesy of Sakamoto after Brazil lost possession in midfield. It was chaos in Brazil's box, but it bounced kindly to the substitute, who rifled past Morisco in the 91st minute.

But the drama was not yet over, as both Ancelotti and the already substituted Raphinha took issue with the goal, believing there was a foul in the build-up, and they received red cards for their protests.

Japan undo Brazil's hard work

The last time these two sides faced off, it was Brazil who were triumphant as they knocked Japan out of the World Cup in the last 32 by winning 2-1, thanks to Gabriel Martinelli's stoppage-time winner.

Before Sakamoto scored, the momentum had seemingly been with Brazil, who were looking to continue their unbeaten run since the tournament (two wins and one draw).

Vinicius, who has had a difficult season at club level so far in 2026-27, including a four-match league ban after a red card for a hair pull, looked to be the saving grace for Brazil.

He had four of their 17 shots, and netted two stunning goals, while he also created two chances (only bettered by Bruno Guimarães' six) and attempted a team-high five dribbles.

But Japan had given more than enough warnings, with their quickfire first-half double showing the holes in Brazil's defence as Ancelotti took the chance to look at Morisco in goal.

Brazil were all over the place for the winner as well, and Raphinha will be suspended for their next friendly against Singapore on Tuesday after tempers flared following the goal.