Fan Reflections and Match Anticipation
“I would second the comment about MBMs,” says Allan Castle, taking the baton from Tiago. “Yesterday, while hosting a watch party for the Canada v South Africa game at our home here in British Columbia, we became aware at a certain point that the game was not necessarily of the highest quality. Every now and then, I would amuse the crowd by saying, ‘Let’s see what the English think of this,’ and reading out the latest wry comment to roars of laughter / looks of incomprehension. (Canada had the last laugh, mind you.)
“By all that, I simply mean to say that for decades now these reports have been a lifeline and a source of good fun. Thank you to you and your colleagues for your excellent work, and long may you continue.”
Well thank you, Allan. It’s about 99% my colleagues, led by the great Rob Smyth and Scott Murray. But I hope I can speak for us all when I say that being read aloud at watch parties in British Columbia is beyond our wildest dreams.
Team Lineups and Tactical Changes
After a commanding victory over Scotland, Carlo Ancelotti sees no reason to alter a winning team. Conversely, Hajime Moriyasu makes four changes to the Japanese side that drew 1-1 with Sweden. Two changes occur in the back three, with Takehiro Tomiyasu (formerly of Arsenal) and Shogo Toniguchi replacing Ayumu Seko and Ko Itakura. In midfield, Kaishu Sano replaces Ao Tanaka in the pivot role. The final change is more complex: Junya Ito comes in at inside-right, displacing Ritsu Doan, who shifts to right wing-back, replacing Yukinan Sugawara.
Brazil (4-3-3): Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Santos; Guimaraes, Casemiro, Paqueta; Rayan, Cunha, Vinicius Jr.
Japan (3-4-2-1): Zion Suzuki; Tomiyasu, Toniguchi, Hiroki Ito; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Junya Ito, Maeda; Ueda.
Match Conditions and Venue Insights
“It may be 33-34 degrees in Houston,” says Leo Addor, “but NRG Stadium is a covered NFL facility with AC. In fact, the guys pitchside on Globo Brazilian TV estimated it’s about 21-22 degrees where they stand. So the heat is not a factor here.”
Point taken – AC was added after writing that. Glad to hear it’s 21, not 15 degrees Celsius. My last experience in an American stadium was reviewing Taylor Swift in Phoenix, Arizona. On a sweltering evening, it was so cold inside the stadium that I very nearly bought a Taylor Swift hoodie.
Fan Emails and Cultural Insights
We have an email from Tiago Maranhao, who writes from Ponta Grossa:
“Love the minute-by-minute reports. I’m writing from Ponta Grossa just to let you know that here in Brazil a knockout stage is called a ‘mata-mata’ stage (‘mata-mata’ would translate as ‘kill-kill’).
“Also, that 3-2 was the first (and only) time we lost a match after leading 2–0. By the way, here’s another bit of Brazilian football slang: when a team loses a match after scoring the opening goal, we call it a ‘virada’ (a turnaround).
“Japan is looking sleek, and this is probably the worst squad we’ve ever sent to a World Cup, but, still, I think we’ll beat them, 3-1.”
A consensus seems to be emerging.
Another early email comes from Krish Krishnamoorthy, an old friend of this parish:
“Japan is not against Brazil,” he says firmly, “but against Don Carlo today and that would make all the difference. I predict a 1-3.”
You may well be right, Krish, but let’s not forget the man whose hand Ancelotti will shortly be shaking. Hajime Moriyasu has been Japan’s manager for eight years and has won no fewer than 74 of his 107 games in charge, if his record is to be believed.
Match History and Weather Forecast
The last (and first) World Cup match I covered took four hours. That was France v Iraq, the game that, thanks to lightning in Philadelphia, had a two-hour half-time. But lightning doesn’t strike twice and the BBC forecast assures us that Houston will be “sunny with a gentle breeze”. Quite toasty too: 33 or 34 degrees – but the NRG Stadium has air conditioning.
This venue hosted five group games, divided into two distinct types. Three were thrashings: Germany 7-1 Curacao, Netherlands 5-1 Sweden, Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan. The other two were cagey affairs: Portugal 1-1 DR Congo, Cape Verde 0-0 Saudi Arabia. Can we agree that today’s game could go either way?
Pre-match Reading
It feels as if everyone in football knows Carlo Ancelotti, but Rodrygo, of Real Madrid and Brazil, knows him better than most. Ancelotti, he believes, is “driven by a phenomenal coherence”. Not something that can be said of every manager.
Hello everyone and welcome to the 74th game of this World Cup. We’re in the home straight now: only another 20 days to go! But the round of 32 has done some good matchmaking and this pairing looks like a case in point.
It’s Brazil, the past masters of the World Cup, against Japan, whose first tournament was only in 1998. Brazil will expect to advance, obviously: they won easily the only other time they met Japan at the World Cup (4-1 in Germany, 20 years ago) and in 14 meetings in all, they have 11 wins and just one defeat. But that defeat came on the last occasion, eight months ago, when Japan went 2-0 down in a friendly on home soil and somehow ended up winning 3-2. So, Casemiro, Vini – you have been warned.
Japan showed much of the same resilience the other day, when they twice went behind to the Netherlands and twice came up with an equaliser. They are unbeaten in this tournament - but then so are Brazil. This may take more than 90 minutes. Kick-off is at 12 noon in Houston, 1pm EST, 6pm BST.
