Brazil rallies past Japan as Paraguay and Morocco stun giants

Brazil rallied from a goal down to beat Japan 2-1, while Paraguay and Morocco both sent traditional powers home in penalty shootouts, turning the round of 16 into a day of three jolts. Germany and the Netherlands left the stage with the kind of exits that narrow the gap between established powers and the challengers trying to catch them.

Brazil absorbed the first blow when Kaishu Sano scored in the 29th minute, but Casemiro leveled after halftime in the 56th minute and Gabriel Martinelli struck in the 90+5 to complete the comeback. FIFA called Martinelli’s goal the latest in regulation time in a World Cup knockout match since 1966, and it came after Brazil had to correct its shape and tempo in the second half to avoid a damaging upset.

Paraguay delivered the clearest statement of the day. Ranked 41st by FIFA against Germany’s 10th-place status, the Paraguay national team went ahead through Julio Enciso, who headed in a Matías Galarza cross just before the break. Kai Havertz pulled Germany level in the second half, and 120 minutes could not separate the sides, but the shootout did. Orlando Gill stopped two penalties, including Havertz’s first effort, and Paraguay won 4-3 after sudden death when José Canale converted and Jonathan Tah missed high. It was Germany’s first defeat in a World Cup penalty shootout, and it came in the first shootout of this phase of the tournament.

Morocco matched that nerve against the Netherlands. Cody Gakpo opened the scoring in the 72nd minute, Issa Diop equalized in the 90+1, and Yassine Bounou proved decisive as Morocco won the shootout 3-2. The match carried an added emotional weight in Monterrey after Gakpo had announced two days earlier the death of his unborn child, a backdrop that FIFA highlighted as the game tightened into penalties.

The day was only the fourth in World Cup history with two shootouts played on the same day, a measure of how much volatility the bracket absorbed in one afternoon. Brazil’s escape preserved one piece of the old order, while Paraguay and Morocco proved that the route through the tournament now runs as much through composure and timing as through pedigree. Brazil moves on to the winner of Ivory Coast against Norway, Paraguay to the winner of France against Sweden, and Morocco to Canada.