Overview
- Brazil beat Japan 2-1 with Gabriel Martinelli scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time to send the side into the next round.
- Coach Carlo Ancelotti said a Neymar substitution had been planned but was called off after Japan's equaliser and rendered unnecessary by Martinelli's late goal.
- Neymar has been used only sparingly at the 2026 World Cup, logging about 14 minutes in the group stage and no minutes in the knockout win over Japan.
- ZDF pundit Christoph Kramer said he does not expect Neymar to play more than 30 consecutive minutes at the tournament and expressed sympathy for the player.
- Neymar posted a mocking message on X aimed at German economist Joachim Klement after Klement's model predicted a Japan win, and the episode has sharpened discussion about Neymar's fitness and late‑career legacy.