World Cup 2026: Brazil were 45 minutes from humiliation – but ‘Crafty Carlo’ does it again

The personnel remained largely the same but it was a different Brazilian team in the second half.

There was a purpose and intensity to their play that was missing in the first half and there were a number of tactical changes; especially the desire to put the ball into the penalty area.

Brazil made 12 crosses in the first half, but generally tried to break Japan’s stubborn backline with the complex, short passes you’d expect from South America.

This was forgotten when the second time 28 crosses were placed in the box. Even accounting for the six minutes of stoppage time, that’s under two minutes per cross.

Japan struggled to deal with the runners at the back post who caught the defenders off guard, and it was little surprise that Casemiro’s equalizing goal came with this simple but effective move.

Former England full-back Stephen Warnock said to BBC Radio 5 Live: “Carlo Ancelotti’s changes at half-time made a difference.” “Japan could not cope with their balls entering the penalty area.”

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton added: “It’s about finding a way. All the experience Brazil have and enough in the tank to knock an excellent Japanese team out of the World Cup.”

There is a romanticism in the idea of ​​Brazil as a team full of attacking talent, playing carefree football, and Ancelotti is not a coach who wants to take that away – but he also recognizes that sometimes winning requires a different approach.

“The only acceptable result is a win. Is the brand of football enough? We can never be satisfied with what we have done.”

“Was it a step forward? This was a more complete game we played. We had more problems in the first half because Japan were coming strong. We overcame it in the second half.

“I definitely believe it’s an evolution. We had a hard time finding space at first, but we were able to solve that problem very well.”