Analysis: Brazil’s issues still unresolved despite beating Japan to last 16 spot | OneFootball

Coby Watson, World Cup tactics correspondent

Brazil defeated Japan in the dying moments despite having been staring a shock World Cup defeat in the face, with several vulnerabilities still unresolved.

Kaishu Sano punished the five-time winners’ cheap giveaway as they once again failed to get going, much like against Morocco in their opening match, but Casemiro headed his team level after first being denied by a miraculous goal-line clearance.

Japan held a fierce resistance to repel attack after attack from Carlo Ancelotti’s side, but let their guard down for the first time in 96 minutes allowing Martinelli to slot in the winner with help of the post to prolong the dark horses’ wait for a knockout win.

Brazil were too slow in transition and Japan looked that half a yard quicker going forward. This tailed off in the second half as Japan sunk deeper but even in the second period they had chances on the break.

Vinícius Júnior had a quiet first half after a double up on him from Japan seemed to effectively isolate him, but eventually showed why he is one of the world’s best and shrugged off the effects of being so tightly marked.

Brazil put themselves on the front foot in the second half and trapped the Samurai Blue inside their own 18-yard box allowing crosses to be constantly thrown into the area leading to Casemiro’s equaliser.

This same pressure also leading to Gabriel Martinelli’s late winner and allowing Brazil to progress to the round of 16.

Brazil vulnerable in transition

Brazil looked vulnerable when they gave possession away. Japan threatened to catch Brazil in transition, as their midfield three looked to be ageing and were slow to get into their defensive shape.

Casemiro in particular looked slow and the warning signs were present when he received a booking after 14 minutes. It was a late lunge on Junya Ito who got in front of the Brazilian and looked to threaten.

15 minutes later Japan exposed Brazil again when Danilo gave the ball away in midfield. Japan were quick on the break and caught the Brazilian midfield snoozing.

Kaishu Sano got past Casemiro with ease as he was far too slow to get back into position. Sano then let fly and put the Japanese ahead.

Casemiro was too slow to close Sano down which ultimately afforded him the space and time to get his shot off. However, this was not just an issue for Casemiro and many of his teammates also struggled to deal with the intensity of the Japanese.

The warning signs were there for Brazil who had been too slow in transition and were half a yard slower than their opposition, and 34-year-old Casemiro’s age was beginning to show as he could not keep up with the pace of the Japanese attack.

Brazil’s problems continued in the second half. Danilo received a booking a few minutes into the second half after a late challenge. They still struggled to live with the pace and directness of the Japan’s attack.

It was abundantly clear Brazil were the dominant side in the second half, but they still looked vulnerable in transition on a couple of occasions.

After a fantastic chance for Vinicius, Japan charged forward in numbers and caught Brazil on the break. The Samrai Blue could not finish on this occasion, but it was clear that Brazil had their vulnerabilities.

Brazil progressed through this game but sides who will go on to play them will note such vulnerabilities. Ivory Coast or Norway will play Brazil next, and they know that if they can overload the midfield area and attack with pace, they will have the numbers advantage.

Brazil are too slow in transition and their midfield failed to hold their shape allowing Japan’s opener. Players like Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard can and will exploit this should they win their game against Ivory Coast.

Vinícius Júnior isolated in attack

Vinicius Junior had 23 touches in the first half with only 3 of them in the Japanese box. He also managed no accurate crosses from three attempts in the first half.

This was credit to the Japanese who were doubling up on Vinicius leaving him with little room to work with. However, Brazil needed to exploit the gaps and space this left for other players such as Rayan on the opposite wing.

Rayan had the fewest touches in the first half of any Brazilian outfield player. If Brazil can shift the ball from one side to the other quicker players like Rayan will be afforded more time to create.

Brazil need to see that Vinícius being doubled up on gives them a man advantage in other areas.

If Brazil can exploit this then going forward an isolated Vinicius will not matter because other players can create off the back of it. This will then force teams to stop doubling up on Vinicius which would allow him to be creative, or they can keep doing it and afford space to someone else just as capable.

However, it must also be remembered that Vinicius Junior is a world class calibre of player. He is able to afford himself space even if there are two players marking him.

Although he did not show this often in the first half, it became much more present in the early parts of the second.

On the hour mark, Vinicius’ first touch took Tomiyasu out the game and gave him the space to build up a pacey dribble. He then weaved the Japanese defenders before getting a shot off, and it was brilliantly tipped onto the post

This level of quality shown by Vinicius alone can elevate the Brazilian side and cause real danger to any opposition.

In the second half, he was afforded greater space due to how deep Japan were sitting in. The double up was less effective as he was no longer as isolated. Brazil were able to commit more men forward and get them around Vinicius which made it more difficult to isolate him in wide areas.

Once Japan dropped off, they afforded Vinicius too much space. In the first half it was seen that Vinicius can be isolated but ultimately his quality can shine through to escape such a high press.

He will be vital if Brazil are to go all the way and cause real trouble for any opposition Brazil face going forward.

Brazil loading the box with crosses

Brazil began to knock on the door in the second half and asked much more questions of the Japanese defence than they had in the first. Japan looked to have sat in too deep to defend their lead affording the Brazilians more time and space.

Crosses were being floated into the box from both sides. They were crossed from the fullbacks and sometimes a midfielder or centre-half. The Japanese struggled to deal with these crosses and won few first contacts.

Brazil surrounded the box and trapped Japan inside their own 18-yard box. This was only seen in glimpses in the first half but was used much more frequently in the second.

Brazil had chances from these crosses having one cleared off the line early in the second half. A few minutes later they did level. Gabriel floated a cross to the far post where Casemiro met it after peeling away from his man.

The fact Gabriel is the man to cross the ball is crucial. It highlights just how many men Brazil were loading into the box. If the centre-half is the man to cross the ball, then it frees up more players to push forward and shows how high of a line the six-time winners were playing.

Brazil were much better in the second half and part of this was their ability to peg Japan back and into their own 18-yard box. Tanaka gave the ball away in the dying moments to set up the chance for Brazil to win the game.

Without Brazil trapping Japan and putting the squeeze on Tanaka they would not have turned the ball over and provided themselves with the opportunity to win the game in such dramatic fashion.

Brazil must continue to put this level of pressure on teams as Japan could not get out often in the second period. The Canarinho were difficult to live with and possess the quality for the big moments.

However, against the better sides they will have to be more cautious about the number of men they commit forward due to their lack of pace going the other way.

If Brazil can find the right balance between attacking pressure and defensive shape, then they could go far.

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