Brazil vs Japan Predicted Lineups & Team News

The round of 32 is upon us at the World Cup, and arguably the tie of the round comes as Brazil face Japan in Houston on Monday evening (6pm BST, 12pm local). 

Brazil looked sharp against Scotland in their final group game, but Japan were also impressive as they finished second behind the Netherlands in Group F. Read on for the Brazil vs Japan Predicted Lineups & Team News.

Brazil vs Japan Odds

Brazil

Carlo Ancelotti will likely stick with the XI that beat Scotland in such convincing fashion, with Rayan set to continue to deputise for the injured Raphinha. 

The Barcelona man missed the win over Scotland with a hamstring injury, and is unliekly to be available for this one given the tight turnaround. Rayan will play up front with Matheus Cunha and the in-form Vinicius Junior, who now has four goals at this tournament and is looking sharp.

Neymar came off the bench to the biggest cheer of the night and looked pretty good given he has been suffering with an injury - but his role is likely to be from the bench once more. 

Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta will continue as a solid midfield trio, with Danilo,  Gabriel, Marquinhos and Douglas Santos the back four in front of goalkeeper Alisson. 

Along with Neymar, Gabriel Martinelli, Endrick and Igor Thiago are solid attacking options from the bench if Ancelotti’s men require a goal.

Japan

Takefusa Kubo’s tournament looks like it may be over as he has missed the last two matches with a knee injury. He is extremely unlikely to feature in this one, with manager Hajime Moriyasu organising his side pretty well in his absence. 

Ayase Ueda will lead the line in this 3-4-2-1 formation supported by Daizen Maeda and Ritsu Doan if he chooses the same attacking line-up that he picked vs Sweden. 

Former Arsenal man Takehiro Tomiyasu could return to the back-three after being rested in that 1-1 draw, and captain Ko Itakura came off in the first half but that is thought to have just been a precaution.

Zion Suzuki will continue in goal after another impressive showing, while in mdifled Ao Tanaka performed exceptionally well against Sweden and will play alongside Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada. Keito Nakamura and Yukinari Sugawara will keep their places in the wing-back positions.

Brazil vs Japan Key Players

Key Player - Vinicius Jr (Brazil)

No point in pretending otherwise to be quirky. Vini Jr has had a wonderful tournament so far and he is Brazil’s standout man. He’s flourishing as the main star rather than sharing the limelight with Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid, and four goals in three games is good going. 

He probably should have another on his record after a strike vs Brazil was harshly ruled out by VAR, and I think he is the X factor that could win Brazil this last 32 tie. 

Key Player - Ao Tanaka (Japan)

It feels like the Leeds United man went slightly under the radar this term for his club, but he is shining for his country at this World Cup. I saw him up close in the EFL Championship in 2024/25, and he was a different class. Leeds went on to win the league with 100 points that season, and it comes as no surprise to be that the Japan midfielder looks at home in the top flight. 

I’m intrigued by the midfield battle that is set to unfold in this game, as I do think Brazil's hard-working trio can be unpicked by Japan. Tanaka is going to be crucial to that, having had the most touches (93) and completed the most dribbles (three) against Sweden.

For all of our coverage and betting markets for the festival of football this summer, please check out our World Cup Odds over on betfred.com