For 93 minutes in MetLife Stadium, Brazil looked like a nation that had forgotten how to play the sport it invented. Japan pressed high, defended deep when required, and seemed entirely comfortable watching the Seleção pass sideways into oblivion. Then Gabriel Martinelli, who had been anonymous for most of the match, collected a deflected clearance on the edge of the box and curled a left-footed shot past Zion Suzuki. Brazil exhaled. So did about 200 million people watching back home.

The 1-0 victory sends Brazil into the knockout rounds, but the scoreline flatters them considerably. This was not the jogo bonito of legend. This was a team clinging to qualification by its fingernails, saved by a moment of individual brilliance that papered over systemic dysfunction.

The Vinicius problem

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior entered the tournament as the presumptive best player in the world. Through three group matches, he has looked more like a man auditioning for a red card than a Ballon d'Or. Against Japan, he completed fewer dribbles than Japan's right-back, spent long stretches arguing with referees, and contributed nothing to the buildup that led to Martinelli's winner because he was busy remonstrating with an assistant referee about a throw-in.

Brazil's attack has been built around Vinicius for two years now. If he cannot find a gear beyond petulance, Dorival Júnior will face an uncomfortable question: do you bench your biggest star to save your tournament?

Japan's moral victory

The Samurai Blue will exit the World Cup on home soil — or near enough, given the tournament's North American venues — with their heads high. Hajime Moriyasu's side outshot Brazil in the first half, won the possession battle for long stretches, and were undone only by the sort of moment that has historically belonged to their opponents. Japanese football has spent decades chasing parity with the traditional powers. On this evidence, they have arrived. The gap is no longer talent; it is merely the cruelty of knockout-round experience.

Our take

Brazil will take the three points and move on, but this performance should worry anyone who picked them to lift the trophy. They have the individual quality to beat any team in the world for five minutes. The question is whether they can sustain coherence for ninety. Martinelli bought them time to figure it out. Whether they use that time wisely is another matter entirely.