Japan v Brazil: Line-ups, stats and preview

• Last Update: October 13, 2025 11:46:38 am BST • 4 min read

It worked a treat in Seoul with the aforementioned trio all on the scoresheet as Brazil cruised past a team that secured their place in the World Cup finals in June.

The task now is to replicate that performance in Tokyo.

“Of course, the individual qualities of Brazilian players naturally create beautiful football,” said Ancelotti, who added, tellingly: “But beautiful football isn’t just about flair or individual skill — it’s also about collective movement, organization and excellence both on and off the ball. That’s what I consider truly beautiful football.”

The former Real Madrid boss repeatedly emphasised the collective over the individual prior to the game in South Korea and he was quick to strike a similar tone here.

He did confirm, though, that he would make some changes for the Japan game, mindful of the fact he will need to utilise his squad at the World Cup.

“It’s a time when we can experiment with a few things,” he added. “We have to manage two things: a team that will gradually become more defined for the World Cup and other players whose integration we want to see.”

One player who most Brazil fans would like to see integrated is Neymar, who remains on the outside despite some fine performances for Santos.

The country’s all-time leading goalscorer would enhance any squad and Ancelotti says he is still part of his plans. He said of the 33-year-old: “He can play at the highest level.

“When he’s healthy, he has the quality to play not only for the national team, but for any team in the world.”

Japan’s task is to convince their fans that they will be a force come the World Cup.

Since they secured qualification, their performances have been largely underwhelming with a 0-0 draw with Mexico followed by a 2-0 defeat to the United States.

On Saturday, they required a 94th-minute leveller from Ayase Ueda to claim a 2-2 draw against Paraguay and extend their unbeaten home run to 20 games.

“We’ll be playing at home and aiming for a result,” said Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu.

“While we, of course, recognise that Brazil is one of the world’s top teams, our own players are now competing on the European stage, and we want to go toe-to-toe.

“We want to fight on equal footing, to test where we are right now and to see what we still lack. We’ll challenge ourselves, look back on the match and grow from it.”

Brazil should have too much for Japan, although it could depend on how experimental Ancelotti decides to be.

Japan are good at home but we fancy Brazil to nick it.

Prediction: Japan 1-2 Brazil