Brazil does not do easy. It never has. And at NRG Stadium in Houston on June 29, the five-time world champions needed every second of stoppage time to put away a Japan side that refused to read the script.

The final score was 2-1, but the scoreline flatters the comfort level. Japan led for the better part of an hour, Brazil clawed back level, and then Gabriel Martinelli, arriving off the bench as a second-half substitute, settled matters in the 95th minute to send the Selecao into the round of 16.

How it unfolded

Japan drew first blood. Sano put the Samurai Blue ahead in the 29th minute, and for a stretch that felt longer than it probably was, Brazil looked like a team that had left something in the locker room.

The equalizer came from an unlikely source. Casemiro, Brazil’s midfield anchor better known for breaking up play than finishing it, found the net in the 56th minute to level proceedings.

Then came Martinelli. The Arsenal forward, introduced as a substitute in the second half, got on the ball in stoppage time and scored. The 95th-minute winner confirmed Brazil’s progression and ended Japan’s tournament.

Brazil’s resilience, Japan’s exit

Japan’s exit is the harder story to sit with. The Samurai Blue led a powerhouse nation for nearly the entire first half and well into the second. Their goal from Sano in the 29th minute was not a fluke. They defended, they organized, they pushed back when Brazil leveled. They simply ran out of time, and Martinelli had other ideas.

What this means going forward

Brazil advancing to the round of 16 keeps alive what is, every four years, the most scrutinized football project on earth. The Selecao carry the weight of a nation that has not lifted the trophy since 2002.

Martinelli’s emergence as a match-winner from the bench gives Brazil’s coaching staff a proven impact substitute who can handle the pressure of a World Cup knockout moment.