World Cup Story Feed / 世界杯事情流
World Cup Story Feed / 世界杯事情流
A 34 year old adductor can't hold back a 24 year old’s sprinting momentum, but it can shatter the ironclad defense that Japan held for 89 minutes. In the 56th minute, at Houston's NRG Stadium, Casemiro forced his way through the gap between Ko Itakura and Hiroki Ito, nodded the ball into the far corner from inside the six yard box. He spread his arms and ran toward the corner flag, while the two Japanese center backs stood still behind him, eyes vacant.
A 34-year-old adductor can't keep up with a 24-year-old's sprinting momentum, but it can shatter the ironclad defense Japan had held for 89 minutes. In the 56th minute at Houston's NRG Stadium, Casemiro forced his way through the gap between Ko Itakura and Hiroki Ito, heading the ball into the far corner from inside the six-yard box. He spread his arms and ran toward the corner flag, with the two Japanese center-backs still standing behind him, eyes vacant.
Just 27 minutes earlier, Sano Kaishu intercepted a misplaced Brazilian pass in midfield, broke through on goal, and slotted it home with his right foot. ESPN's live text didn't pull any punches: Japan directly capitalized on Casemiro's poor defense. At halftime, Casemiro had a yellow card from the 14th minute in his pocket, and his ears were full of abuse from ITV pundit Roy Keane. Keane tore into Ancelotti's selection choices in the broadcast booth.
Down 0-1, carrying a yellow card, 34 years old, struggling to move. Substitution was the only rational choice. Ancelotti had done exactly that in the group stage against Morocco—according to Rio Times, Casemiro picked up a card in the first half of that match and was subbed off at halftime to avoid a red card risk.
This time, Ancelotti didn't sub him off.
91 touches, 89% pass accuracy, 16 progressive carries, an 8.0 Sofascore rating. This set of stats reads like a report on a peak defensive midfielder, but they can't hide the ugly picture painted by The Telegraph: Casemiro was outpaced in midfield by his opponents. The foul that earned him a yellow card in the 14th minute was a clear sign that his movement was a beat too slow. In the first half, Sano Kaishu twice cut in from his flank into dangerous areas, once creating the goal.
The yellow card forced him to hold back. Since he couldn't catch up, he simply gave up on chasing back and bet all his remaining energy on the attack. Ancelotti accepted the trade-off. The veteran coach no longer expected him to race Sano Kaishu for the ball in midfield; instead, he wanted the Brazilian to appear directly in Japan's box and wait for the cross. The Guardian's post-match analysis laid out the calculation: one of Ancelotti's two key decisions to win the game was not subbing off Casemiro at halftime. In-depth analysis from France24 and RFI provided the context—Ancelotti saw Casemiro as an extension of himself on the pitch, a tool to firmly control the team's structure and rhythm.
In the 56th minute, the gamble paid off. Gabriel Magalhães raced to the left byline, looked up, and sent in a looping cross. Casemiro jumped between the two Japanese center-backs and headed the ball into the net from close range. 1-1. His 10th goal for Brazil.
Ancelotti won this bet, but the cost came immediately. In the 90+2 minute, Casemiro collapsed on the turf, clutching his groin. Yahoo Sports confirmed in real time that it was a groin injury, and the stretcher team came on. Brazil used their final substitution in stoppage time, and as Casemiro limped down the tunnel, the score was still locked at 1-1.
Moriyasu's team hunkered down in a 3-4-2-1 low block for 89 minutes, weathering Brazil's 69% possession, a 19-5 shot ratio, and an expected goals difference of 1.72 to 0.23. But Japan's World Cup knockout record is a history of bloodshed. In 2002, they lost 0-1 to Turkey. In 2010, they fell on penalties to Paraguay. In 2018, in the round of 16 against Belgium, they led 2-0 until the 69th minute, when Vertonghen scored a header to pull one back, followed by Fellaini's header in the 74th to equalize, and then Chadli's counter-attack winner in the 90+4 minute. In 2022, in the round of 16 against Croatia, Maeda Daizen scored in the 43rd minute to make it 1-0, but Perišić equalized with a header, and they were eliminated on penalties.
In 2026, it was Casemiro's header.
For three consecutive World Cup knockout matches, Japan scored first. For three consecutive times, they were overturned. In those three knockout games, of the six goals they conceded from open play, four were headers. A five-man defense couldn't plug that hole; the physical ceiling was right there. Vertonghen, Fellaini, Perišić, Casemiro. Three World Cups, the same dagger. Moriyasu spent four years crafting a tactical framework that could draw with the Netherlands, beat Tunisia, and draw with Sweden in the group stage. But in the knockout rounds, the quality of the opponent's crosses and the physical dominance in the box are problems that training sessions simply can't solve.
Martinelli sealed the score at 2-1 in the 90+6 minute. Brazil advanced to the round of 16. Ancelotti won the gamble tonight. Casemiro was still clutching his groin in the tunnel. In the next round, Brazil's opponents are already studying that vacuum zone in midfield.