The 2026 FIFA World Cup enters its knockout phase with a fascinating Round of 32 clash between Brazil and Japan on Monday at 17:00 GMT at NRG Stadium in Houston, United States. Italian referee Maurizio Mariani will oversee the encounter as both nations battle for a place in the Round of 16.
Brazil arrives as one of the tournament favorites, but Japan has shown throughout the group stage that it has the quality and ambition to compete with the world’s best.
Here are the starting XIs for both teams :
Brazil : Alison ; Danilo ; Marquinhos (c); G. Magalhaes ; D. Santos ; B. Guimaraes ; Casemiro ; L. Paqueta ; Rayan ; M. Cunha and Vinicius Junior.
Japan will start with : Z. Suzuki ; H. Ito ; T. Tomiyasu ; S. Taniguchi ; K. Nakamura ; D. Kamada ; K. Sano ; R. Doan (c) ; D. Maeda ; J. Ito and A. Ueda.
