Gabriel Martinelli's Last-Minute Winner Sends Brazil to Last 16
Gabriel Martinelli stepped out of the shadows and into World Cup folklore with a 96th‑minute winner as Brazil came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 and book their place in the last 16.
The Arsenal winger started the night on the bench. He finished it as the man carried on shoulders, the match-winner in a tie that flirted with disaster for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Brazil rocked, then rescued
Japan were bold, sharp and unafraid. Their reward came on 29 minutes, when Kaishu Sano stunned the Selecao, putting the Samurai Blue in front and silencing a Brazil support that had arrived in party mode.
Brazil laboured. The passes were there, the rhythm wasn’t. Ancelotti’s team went down the tunnel behind, with tension replacing the early swagger.
The response after the break had to be immediate. Eleven minutes into the second half, it was. A superb delivery from Gabriel from the right carved Japan open, and Casemiro arrived at the back post to bury a header and drag Brazil level. One cross, one run, one thumping finish. The mood changed in an instant.
Still, the game refused to tilt fully Brazil’s way. Japan held their shape, broke with menace and never looked like a side content simply to hang on.
Martinelli’s moment
With the tie on a knife-edge, Ancelotti turned to Martinelli, doubling the Arsenal presence on the pitch and gambling on fresh legs and direct running to crack Japan’s resistance.
The clock ticked deep into stoppage time. Nerves frayed. Then the Premier League connection delivered.
Bournemouth’s Rayan snapped into a challenge on the edge of the box to win the ball back, setting the move in motion. He found Bruno Guimaraes, the Newcastle United captain pausing just long enough to see the angle, then threading an inch-perfect pass into Martinelli’s stride.
One touch to steady himself. A second to decide a tie.
Martinelli opened his body and slid a ruthless low finish past Zion Suzuki. The ball kissed the post on its way in, a split second of uncertainty before the net rippled and the Brazilian end exploded.
His first World Cup goal. His second World Cup finals. And arguably the most important strike of his international career so far.
Afterwards, the emotion poured out of him. He spoke of joy he “didn’t have words” for, of seeing Brazilian fans and his family celebrating, of a previous effort that had hit the post and the feeling that another chance would come. This time, it did, and he buried it.
The goal marked his fifth for Brazil on his 26th cap. Gabriel, who supplied the earlier assist, now sits on 21 caps, having started all four of Brazil’s World Cup matches so far.
Both will have the chance to add to those numbers on Sunday, when Brazil face either Norway or Ivory Coast. A meeting with Martin Odegaard is still on the cards, and with it a guarantee of Arsenal representation in the quarter-finals.
Havertz scores, then suffers
While Brazil marched on, Germany crashed out in familiar, painful fashion.
Kai Havertz found the net in normal time but left the pitch devastated as Germany lost to Paraguay on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Julio Enciso had given Paraguay a 42nd‑minute lead, punishing Germany just before the break. Havertz dragged his country back into it, rising to head in a cross from Florian Wirtz and level the tie.
Germany pushed, thought they had won it when Jonathan Tah scored in extra-time, only to see the goal ruled out. The momentum drained away. The shootout decided it.
From the spot, Paraguay held their nerve. Germany did not. Havertz was one of three players to miss in the shootout, a brutal twist for a forward who had been their lifeline earlier in the night.
His reaction was raw. He called himself speechless, admitted that in his second World Cup, Germany had “messed up for the second time,” and described recent tournaments as “a disaster.” No excuses, no deflection – just a stark admission that the players must “take a long, hard look” at themselves while carrying the weight of a “huge country with a rich football history.”
Martinelli leaves Houston dreaming of the knockout rounds. Havertz leaves wondering how many more chances this generation will get.
