Gabriel Martinelli scores late in injury time to help Brazil beat Japan 2-1 at World Cup

HOUSTON (AP) — With Brazil trailing for much of the game and with extra time looming, Gabriel Martinelli came through in a big, big way at the World Cup.

Martinelli entered the game as a second-half substitute and put an end to Japan’s near-upset on Monday, scoring the winning goal late in injury time to give five-time champion Brazil a 2-1 victory and a spot in the round of 16.

The result was a showcase of Brazil’s Italian connections. Martinelli holds dual citizenship in Italy and Brazil, and the man who made the decision to change the team’s makeup was Carlo Ancelotti, an Italian who is the first European to coach the South American country’s national team.

“Above all else we wanted to freshen up the field because Martinelli has a lot of intensity as a player,” Ancelotti said through a translator. “When he goes in the match he’s always on his top game.”

Brazil will next face either the Ivory Coast or Norway on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the round of 16.

“We can never be content with what we’re doing,” Ancelotti said. “We’re doing a good job. We are performing. But you can never be content because we want to play better. We want to play at the highest level.”

Casemiro had earlier equalized for Brazil on a header in the 56th minute off an assist from Gabriel Magalhães after just missing another chance two minutes earlier. The shot sailed just out of the reach of the outstretched hand of Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and into the net.

Kaishu Sano stole a misplaced pass at midfield and took it down the field before a right-footed shot from above the half circle put Japan ahead in the 29th minute.

“There is not not making mistakes because nobody is perfect,” Ancelotti said. “But you have to overcome it and you have to push it forward. The team did a good job of that in the second half.”

Vinícius Júnior, who has scored four goals so far in this year's tournament, had a chance to put Brazil on top in the 58th minute but his shot from the left box was deflected by Suzuki and went off the far post.

Casemiro left in the first minute of second-half stoppage time with what appeared to be a leg injury.

Brazil had two chances to even the score early in the second half before breaking through. On the first one, Suzuki blocked a header from Bruno Guimarães in the 52nd minute. Soon after, Casemiro’s header bounced off a defender’s head and Suzuki’s face. Suzuki finished with four saves.

Brazil great Neymar didn’t play Monday after making his first appearance for the team since 2023 in the last game against Scotland. He played only 14 minutes in that 3-0 win after missing the first two group matches at the World Cup with a right calf injury.

“I was seriously considering putting him on the pitch,” Ancelotti said. “In the end, we did not need him.”

Japan has never won a knockout match at the World Cup, going 0-4 in the round of 16 — including also taking the lead the last two times in 2018 and 2022 before losing.

The win was Brazil’s 12th in 15 games against Japan. The teams have also played to two draws while Japan got its first win in the series in a friendly in Tokyo in October.

“The gap between us is closing now,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said through a translator. “Brazil is a top-tier team and we’re definitely approaching that level.”

Then he mentioned the loss in Qatar four years ago before adding: “We have to up our game.”

This was a matchup between two countries with deep ties, with Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.

Those ties extend to soccer where Brazil superstar Zico moved to Japan in 1991 to play for Kashima Antlers and help build Japan’s professional soccer network. He coached the Japan national team from 2002-06, leading the team to the World Cup in 2006.

That team lost to Brazil 4-1 in the only previous meeting between the teams at the World Cup.

Brazil won Group C after a draw with Morocco and victories over Haiti and Scotland. Monday’s victory came on the anniversary of their first World Cup championship in Sweden in 1958, when a 17-year-old Pele scored two goals in the final against the host country.

Japan reached the round of 32 as runner-up in Group F after a draws with the Netherlands and Sweden and a win over Tunisia. The loss snaps a 10-game unbeaten streak dating back to a 2-0 loss to the United States in September.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (22) celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Brazil and Japan in Houston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Japan's Takehiro Tomiyasu (22) battles for the ball with Brazil's Endrick (19) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Brazil and Japan in Houston, on Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki (1) is beaten by a header from Brazil's Casemiro (5) for their first goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Brazil and Japan in Houston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Brazil's Gabriel Magalhaes (3). left, heads for the ball with Japan's Wataru Endo (6) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Brazil and Japan in Houston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Smith)

Japan's Kaishu Sano (24) celebrates after scoring the opening goal of his team during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Brazil and Japan in Houston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Brazil's Casemiro (5) celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Brazil and Japan in Houston, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

An Israeli was fatally shot in an attack in the West Bank, and the Israeli military said Sunday it killed an alleged attacker who attempted to ram his vehicle into troops also in the occupied territory.

Meanwhile, Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait condemned Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen after they fired a ballistic missile at the Saudi capital on Saturday.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Full coverage is available here.

A 30-year-old man was killed in a shooting attack in the northern West Bank on Sunday morning, hours before the Yom Kippur holiday, which is widely considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The Israeli military said the attacker opened fire from a vehicle and then fled on foot. The man was evacuated to a hospital but died of his wounds, police said.

The military also said it killed a Palestinian man who attempted to carry out a ramming attack on soldiers at an intersection near Jenin, less than an hour later. The military said it was searching for another man who was in the car.

Prior to the attack, Israeli troops carried out a large counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank town of Al-Mughayyir. Palestinian officials said at least 28 people were detained. Tensions have surged in the West Bank and extremist Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have increased exponentially, emboldened by right-wing, ultra-nationalist politicians in Israel's government.

Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait said the Houthi attack on Riyadh was a threat to regional security and stability and a violation of international law. The nations in separate statements said their governments stand with Saudi Arabia in support of its sovereignty and protection of its civilians.

The Muslim World League also condemned the attack on civilians and civilian infrastructure as a violation of “all religious values as well as international and humanitarian laws and norms.”

It was the first time the Saudi capital has been targeted since the escalation in fighting with the Iran-backed rebels opened a new front in the Iran war. Saudi Arabia said the attack was intercepted. Some residents in Riyadh heard an explosion, and later some saw a plume of smoke near the airport. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

Six French nationals in Iraq suspected of being members of the extremist Islamic State group have stood trial, Iraqi judicial and security officials told The Associated Press.

The officials, who said it could take several proceedings before a verdict is issued, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

The six are among 47 French nationals held in Iraq who were part of thousands of people with suspected links to the IS, and who were repatriated from neighboring Syria early this year.

— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad.

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Palestinian farmers carry containers of milk from their livestock across a trench dug by the Israeli army in a road leading to the West Bank hamlet of Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar, southeast of Tubas, on their way to sell it Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

A Palestinian farmer carries containers of milk from their livestock across a trench dug by the Israeli army in a road leading to the West Bank hamlet of Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar, southeast of Tubas, on their way to sell it Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)