A Gabriel Martinelli goal in the final moments gave Brazil a memorable victory over Japan in Houston and sent them through to the next round.
It was Japan who took the lead in the 29th minute, thanks to a fabulous strike from Kaishu Sano, but Casemiro levelled the scores for Brazil with a thumping header in the 56th minute.
Martinelli turned out to be the hero for the South American giants as he struck the crucial goal in the final moments.
Brazil will meet the winner of the Côte d’Ivoire-Norway clash in the Round of 16 on July 5 at the New York/New Jersey Stadium.
Meanwhile, Paraguay registered a historic victory over four-time world champions Germany in a penalty shootout after both sides battled to a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.
Julio Enciso opened the scoring for Paraguay in the 42nd minute, but Kai Havertz equalised with a header in the 54th minute. As both sides failed to find a winning goal, a penalty shootout was the only option to decide the match.
Paraguay eventually won the match 4-3 and will meet the winner of France vs Sweden in Philadelphia on July 4.
Later, Germany’s head Coach Julian Nagelsmann said: “There’s a real sense of dejection in the dressing room. Unfortunately, that’s how football works sometimes; some teams can win with simple means. And you have to defend against those means consistently. We took too long to make our opponent chase the game. We could have put the ball into the box far more often. We have to settle the game before it gets to [penalties]. Our build-up play was too slow.”
Elsewhere, Morocco defeated the Netherlands on penalties in a fiery Round of 32 clash at Monterrey Stadium.
Cody Gakpo’s goal in the 72nd minute gave the Oranje a 1-0 lead, but Morocco substitute Issa Diop’s header in the 91st minute took the match into extra time. The match was eventually decided on spot-kicks.
Morocco’s Ismael Saibari won the decisive penalty to book a Round of 16 clash with World Cup co-hosts Canada in Houston on July 4.
