Japan fall 2–1 to Brazil and the gap to Saudi Arabia is laid bare

Japan pushed Brazil to the limit in a World Cup round-of-32 clash but fell 2–1, a result that only sharpens the contrast with Saudi Arabia's group-stage exit seven days earlier. Kaoru Mitoma, Wataru Endo, Takumi Minamino, and Takefusa Kubo all featured for Japan (1). Where the Samurai Blue stretched a South American giant to the final whistle, your team bowed out with a 0–0 draw against Cape Verde. The Guardian framed Japan as "the example to follow," noting this has been a dismal World Cup for Asia (1). Federation president Yasser Al Misehal has already resigned.