The hosts defeated Paraguay 4-1 in their most recent exhibition match, while Tite’s side thrashed South Korea 5-1 earlier this month.
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Japan will host Brazil in an international friendly at the Japan National Stadium on Monday. Both sides have booked their place in the FIFA World Cup finals to be held in Qatar later this year. The hosts defeated Paraguay 4-1 in their most recent exhibition match, while Tite’s side thrashed South Korea 5-1 earlier this month. The Samurai Blue breezed through their World Cup qualification third round to finish second in their group, behind Saudi Arabia. While South American’s dominated the CONMEBOL WC qualification, winning 14 of their 17 games to top the table with 45 points, six more than the second-placed Argentina.
At Sapporo Dome, The Samurai Blue thumped Paraguay courtesy of goals from Takuma Asano, Daichi Kamada, Kaoru Mitoma and Ao Tanaka. The visitors pulled one back through Derlis Gonzalez. Hajime Moriyasu’s side has now registered seven wins and a draw in their last eight matches in all competitions. After the friendly, the focus will quickly shift to the Kirin Cup, as Ghana awaits Japan on June 10 before taking on Chile or Tunisia in the final or the third-placed playoff. The Japanese Football Association has arranged for an excellent set of friendlies and cup fixtures, giving the Samurai Blue a chance to test themselves against opponents from all over the world before the global event in November.
Brazil has now posted four consecutive wins in all competitions while scoring at least four goals on all those occasions and conceding just once. Tite’s side has not tasted defeat in their last 12 games since losing the Copa America 2021 final against Argentina. Meanwhile the Selecao has prevailed in 19 of their 20 games away from home. In their previous match against South Korea, Neymar netted a brace while Richarlison, Gabriel Jesus and Philippe Coutinho scored one goal each to secure a five-star victory at Seoul world Cup stadium. Meanwhile Brazil have managed to avoid defeat in their 12 previous encounters against the Samurai Blue.
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Japan’s Takehiro Tomiyasu is currently injured and has not joined the squad this week. Yukinari Sugawara picked up a knock against Paraguay last week and has been ruled out for Monday’s match. Meanwhile Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino is likely to lead the attack.
As for Brazil, Gabriel Magalhães, Gabriel Martinelli, and Ederson Moraes are yet to regain match-fitness and will not feature in this game. Champions League finalists Alisson Becker, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Fabinho were given rest against South Korea and will be available for selection. Meanwhile centre-back Eder Militao could return to the squad.
Japan probable starting lineup: Schmidt, Yamane, Yoshida, Taniguchi, Ito, Tanaka, Endo, Kamada, Doan Asano, Furuhashi
Brazil probable starting lineup: Alisson, Alves, Marquinhos Militão, Sandro, Fabinho, Guimaraes, Rodrygo, Paquetá, Neymar, Jesus
The international friendly match between Japan and Brazil will take place at the Japan National Stadium and will kick-off at 3:50 pm IST on Monday, June 6.
Unfortunately, there will be no official live telecast or streaming of these games on Indian Television platforms. Fans in Japan can watch the match on NTV. In Brazil the match is available on Canais Globo, NOW NET e Claro, SporTV and Globo.
