Matheus Cunha: Man United star helps Brazil beat Japan at World Cup | OneFootball

Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha produced a spirited performance for Brazil as he and Casemiro combined to help their team reach the final sixteen of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Japan.

Strong Start for the Selecao

Fresh from his maiden campaign at Old Trafford, which saw Cunha hit double figures for the Red Devils, he has enjoyed a superb start in North America.

Matheus Cunha stats: 2025/26 Season

Source: Transfermarkt.

Despite Carlo Ancelotti opting for Brentford frontman Igor Thiago in the opening game against Morocco, the Italian tactician’s switch to Cunha as the centre-forward saw him score three goals in the final two games – two against Haiti and one versus Scotland – to send the Selecao through as top of Group C.

Despite wearing the No.10 for United, the João Pessoa native is Brazil’s best-scoring No.9 at the World Cup since Ronaldo Nazario.

First Knockout Game

Against Japan, Ancelotti again deployed Cunha through the middle, with Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jnr and Bournemouth starlet Rayan either side of him. Casemiro, the anchor in midfield, was stationed next to Bruno Guimaraes, who was linked with a move to Old Trafford last week.

But Brazil started poorly, despite Cunha looking bright in his few moments on the ball. Casemiro, by comparison, was completely off the pace, looking every bit his 34 years of age.

In the 13th minute, Cunha fired off a well-taken shot, which required Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki – the highly-rated Parma goalkeeper who is a long-term target for United – to make a smart save. A few minutes later, Cunha bore down on the Japanese goal and was hacked down by Kaishū Sano, who was lucky the referee did not see the contact as the 24-year-old midfielder was on a yellow card.

In the 29th minute, the game then took a controversial twist as Sano burst onto a misplaced pass by Danilo, powering past Casemiro to score a superb goal past Alisson. Questions were immediately raised about whether he should have been on the pitch, but, truthfully, Japan deserved the lead. The Blue Samurai thoroughly outplayed Brazil for the remainder of the half, with the midfield in particular being a losing battle for Ancelotti’s side.

Second Half Recovery

At half-time, Ancelotti withdrew Lucas Paqueta in favour of teenage wonderkid Endrick, dropping Cunha deeper into the No.10 role. The change worked as Brazil were a different team in the second half, clawing their way back into the game courtesy of a familiar sight for United fans – a Casemiro header.

In the 53rd minute, the five-time Champions League winner had one clawed off the line by the superb Suzuki. But just two minutes later, the 34-year-old made no mistake with a bullet header from a superb cross by Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes.

Cunha was withdrawn in place of Gabriel Martinelli in the 65th minute. He finished the match with three shots, though only one on target. He completed 100% of his passes, while making one tackle and one ground duel. Five carries were successful, but he miscontrolled the ball from his one dribble (Source: Sofa Score).

Fabinho came on for Casemiro in the 91st minute with the game poised for a player to step up and send their country through to the next round – which Martinelli did in the final minute of a pulsating added time, with virtually the last kick of the game.

Final Thoughts

While this was not a vintage performance from Cunha by any stretch of the imagination, he offered his usual combination of hard yards and high-level technique. Brazil were much improved once he was dropped into the No.10 role with Endrick leading the line, and the wholly ineffective Paqueta withdrawn.

It gives Ancelotti much room for thought as he prepares his side for the last-sixteen tie, which will see them face the winner of Norway and Ivory Coast. A brave decision would be to start with the line-up that he switched to in the second half, though the first forty-five was a reminder for United fans why INEOS decided to let Casemiro depart for pastures anew.

Featured image Molly Darlington via Getty Images

online polls

The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social