Brazil was up against Japan in their second game at the Paris Olympics 2024. The South American side had won their opening game against Nigeria by a one goal margin. Japan came into this one the back of a loss to Spain in their opening fixture. A win in this game for Brazil would have put them in a strong position for qualification into the knockouts but it wasn’t to be.

Arthur Elias lined up his side in a 3-4-3 with a back three of Lauren, Rafaelle and Thais Ferreira, in a possible bid to match Japan’s back three formation. Japan came out in a 5-3-2 formation with Chelsea’s Maika Hamano starting this game.

The game proved to be a tricky affair for Brazil as they struggled to progress the ball through the middle and were exposed by Japan on the flanks. The pressing from Mina Tanaka to show Brazil into their pressing zones. Japan shadow blocked passes into midfield with Yui Hasegawa stepping up often. Brazil found it difficult to find meaningful passes once the possession was funneled to the flanks with Japan using their near sided winger to jump along with the wingback thus establishing a numerical superiority over their opponent.

The 2011 World Champions came close to scoring in the first half after earning a penalty in the dying minutes. However, Tanaka’s effort was a tame one and was easily saved by Brazilian goalkeeper, Lorena. In the second half, it was Brazil who took the lead after a brilliant pass from Marta to Ludmila pierced through their compact defensive structure in the 56th minute. Ludmila then set up Jheniffer for the opening goal. Marta produced yet another decisive moment on her 200th cap with the national side.

Brazil tried to shut shop after this but it backfired as they conceded yet another penalty in the 92nd minute which Saki Kumagai confidently dispatched. It was a moment of brilliance from the 19-year-old Momoko Tanikawa who scored an absolute belter to give Japan the lead just four minutes later and secure the three points for Nadeshiko Japan.

Real Madrid’s Antonia was deployed as the right wingback and played the entire 90 minutes. She didn’t have many defining moments and was often pulled high up the pitch leaving a big gap at the back that Japan exploited. She managed to get a shot in the 63rd minute of the game but overall, not the best game from the new Madrid recruit.

Brazil will now have to face Spain in their final group stage game and hope to secure a win in order to give them the best chance of qualification. Japan will next face a stern Nigerian defense that won’t be easy to break down.