Champions League Martinelli showed up for Brazil at just the right moment

Unsurprisingly, it was Gabriel Martinelli who delivered the decisive blow.

The 25-year-old has been a situational player for the Brazilians at this World Cup, used by Carlo Ancelotti to inject pace and a nose for goal towards the ends of games. It's not too dissimilar to his role at club side Arsenal, where the winger has made a name for himself with timely finishes to help earn a result.

• Read next | Tactical analysis: How Brazil finally broke Japan's disciplined defensive block

Such was the case on Monday, as Brazil had to fight back from a first-half deficit against a stout Japanese team locked in on defending. The Asian side employed a compact defensive posture to near-perfection in the first half, lining up in well-defined banks of three or four and not allowing anything from the Brazilians down the middle of the pitch, forcing them to resort to hopeful long-range shots or crosses into a heavily populated penalty area.

Carlo Ancelotti, Brazil's esteemed head coach, enacted a tactical shift at halftime to open up the middle of the field, with youngster Endrick inserted into the match to help in that regard. The Brazilians slowly started forcing Japan's compact defense to become a little too compact, creating more space in the middle third of the pitch and also forcing the Japanese into committing errors in key areas.

Enter Martinelli, who has shown a knack for exploiting tired, mistake-prone defences this past season, especially in the Champions League.

• Read next | Brazil vs. Japan player ratings: Which players rose to the occasion in last-32 battle?

The Arsenal man made something of a habit of scoring late goals in the 2025-26 edition of Europe's premier club competition, scoring after the 75th minute in four different games. Martinelli's directness and blistering speed have made him a key weapon for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, and Ancelotti unleashed him in the 65th minute after Brazil had found an equalizer nine minutes earlier.

With Japan's defensive shape coming undone due to fatigue and Brazil's tactical shift, Martinelli was the exact right man to come into the match for the final 25 minutes. Lining up on his familiar left wing, Martinelli's presence helped unbalance the Japanese, as they now had to contend with his particular set of skills along with the rest of the Brazilian attack.

Just as the game appeared to be headed for extra time, Martinelli found himself in prime position to end things in his team's favour. After Ao Tanaka was pressured into coughing up the ball at the top of his own team's box, Bruno Guimaraes quickly slipped a pass to Martinelli, who had stepped between two defenders in anticipation of the pass. He received the ball with his left foot, touched it over to his right foot and quickly stabbed it past Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, who could only watch as the ball deflected off his fingertips and off the far post before nestling in the back of the net.

Martinelli's shot crossed the line at 5:01 of stoppage time, giving Brazil their first lead of the day and the only one they would need.

Once again, Martinelli had summoned the late-game magic that so often made him a hero during Arsenal's recent run to the Champions League final. Only this time, he did it on an even bigger stage.

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