Martinelli praises Japan, brings Premier League experience to Tokyo | OneFootball

Author of Brazil’s second goal this Tuesday, Gabriel Martinelli had nothing but praise for Japan after the come-from-behind 3–2 defeat at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.

The Arsenal forward highlighted the quality of the opposing team, despite Brazil having gone up 2–0, and saw many similarities in Tuesday’s friendly to a Premier League match, the English Championship, one of the most competitive on the planet.

“They have a great team as well. We had a very good first half, we managed to score two goals. In the second half maybe a bit of a lack of focus at the start, we got a little nervous playing out from the back. These things happen, that’s football, there are many quality teams that can score goals like they did. As a Premier League player, I know how it works, there are a lot of comebacks in games,” Martinelli told SporTV.

The forward was one of the new faces in Brazil’s starting lineup against Japan. In all, there were eight changes made by coach Carlo Ancelotti compared to the team that thrashed South Korea, but despite a good first half, the Seleção couldn’t avoid an unprecedented defeat to the Japanese.

“No, I’m definitely very sad about the defeat; every time we step on the field we go in to win, to give our best and represent Brazil in the best way possible,” Martinelli said.

“It’s football, it’s 11 against 11, we have to give our best on the pitch, but we’re all sad. In a month we’ll have another opportunity to be called up and come here with the same mentality as always, which is to represent Brazilians in the best way possible,” he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.