HOUSTON, June 29 (Reuters) – Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti named an unchanged side for Monday’s World Cup round-of-32 match against Japan, keeping faith with the team who beat Scotland 3-0 in their final Group C game. Japan made four changes as they try to beat the five-time champions at a World Cup for the first time. […]
Sports
Soccer-Brazil unchanged, Japan opt for five-man defence
Audio By Carbonatix
HOUSTON, June 29 (Reuters) – Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti named an unchanged side for Monday’s World Cup round-of-32 match against Japan, keeping faith with the team who beat Scotland 3-0 in their final Group C game. Japan made four changes as they try to beat the five-time champions at a World Cup for the first time.
• Forward Rayan, 19, makes his second start for Brazil in place of the injured Raphinha alongside Matheus Cunha and Vinicius Jr.
• Neymar to start on the bench again as he continues recovery from calf injury.
• Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu makes four changes to his team that drew 1-1 against Sweden in their final Group F game.
• Japan’s Yukinari Sugawara, Ko Itakura, Ayumu Seko and Ao Tanaka are dropped as they play a five-man defence, with Shogo Taniguchi, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Junya Ito and Kaishu Sano in the starting side.
• Takefusa Kubo on the bench as he nurses ankle injury.
Lineups:
Brazil: Alisson; Danilo, Gabriel Magalhaes, Marquinhos, Douglas Santos; Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Lucas Paqueta; Matheus Cunha, Rayan, Vinicius Jr.
Japan: Zion Suzuki; Hiroki Ito, Shogo Taniguchi, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Ritsu Doan, Daizen Maeda, Keito Nakamura, Junya Ito, Daichi Kamada, Kaishu Sano; Ayase Ueda.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Ed Osmond)