Key events<\/p>\n
\u201cSo excited for this one,\u201d says Thomas Krantz, \u201ceven though I think Brazil<\/a> will win it in normal time. I just hope Japan doesn\u2019t wait to turn on the ignition until they are behind, as has happened in their previous games. Also, what Taylor Swift song will best caption this game? I will go with You\u2019re On Your Own, Kid which is probably what Ancelotti is saying to Vini right now.\u201d<\/p>\n And here it is. But I believe there\u2019s a little-known rule stating that we\u2019re only allowed to link to one Taylor Swift song in each World Cup<\/a> match, so that\u2019s your lot.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And here\u2019s Simon McMahon. \u201cAfternoon Tim. I echo the previous sentiments regarding the MBM. A strange, yet familiar, community.\u201d That\u2019s us!<\/p>\n \u201cI have no insight to offer, so will leave that to others, but I think I\u2019m safe in saying that Japan will provide Brazil<\/a> with a sterner examination than Scotland did. A seven-goal thriller would be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n That\u2019s enough backslapping \u2013 we have a less satisfied customer. \u201cAh Tim, why do you bring up the heartbreak again?\u201d asks Mariana Berg, quoting my line about Brazil winning easily the only other time they met Japan at the World Cup<\/a> (4-1 in Germany, 20 years ago). \u201cIt still hurts.\u201d Sorry!<\/p>\n \u201cI hadn\u2019t ever watched a big football event before, but having been an avid manga and anime fan, I was excited to watch Japan<\/a> in the World Cup 2006 in my home country.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I remember is that \u2013 to my recollection \u2013 at that time Japan\u2019s one goal had been the first goal against Brazil<\/a> since the autumn of 2005 or so, so … result! And then the heartbreak.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll watch the game today from the same place as 2006, Berlin, and look forward to revenge a good game.\u201d Ha.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cReporting from Chicago, IL,\u201d says Rajat Khandelwal. \u201cLong time lurker across sports, first time poster.\u201d Congratulations on opening your account.<\/p>\n \u201cMBMs are often more fun than the games themselves, mixing in niche references which send me down rabbit holes with exhilarating text in bold for goals and wickets providing a fun break from my day job.\u201d We aim to exhilarate.<\/p>\n \u201cRooting for the Asian and African teams to win it all! Go Japan<\/a> and Morocco!\u201d<\/p>\n Japan fans before the game. Photograph: Lynn Pennington\/Zuma Press Wire\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.25 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cConsensus,\u201d exclaims Richard Hirst, \u201cget thee behind me! If they weren\u2019t called Brazil<\/a> would we be so readily predicting victory for a team whose playmaker spent most of last season failing to prevent West Ham being relegated, whose defensive midfielder has all the mobility of a traffic cone, whose\u2026\u2026 well, you get my drift.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, they\u2019ll probably win, but if Japan<\/a> get in amongst them there could be a surprise.\u201d For sure.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Outside the World Cup<\/a> bubble, Manchester City have confirmed the identity of their new manager. To nobody\u2019s surprise, it\u2019s Enzo Maresca. Our man in Manchester, Jamie Jackson, has been working out what he needs to do.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI would second the comment about MBMs,\u201d says Allan Castle, taking the baton from Tiago. \u201cYesterday, while hosting a watch party for the Canada v South Africa game at our home here in British Columbia, we became aware at a certain point that the game was not necessarily of the highest quality. Every now and then, I would amuse the crowd by saying, \u2018Let\u2019s see what the English think of this,\u2019 and reading out the latest wry comment to roars of laughter \/ looks of incomprehension. (Canada had the last laugh, mind you.)<\/p>\n \u201cBy all that, I simply mean to say that for decades now these reports have been a lifeline and a source of good fun. Thank you to you and your colleagues for your excellent work, and long may you continue.\u201d Well thank you, Allan. It\u2019s about 99% my colleagues, led by the great Rob Smyth and Scott Murray. But I hope I can speak for us all when I say that being read aloud at watch parties in British Columbia is beyond our wildest dreams.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The teams<\/p>\n After hammering the Scots, Carlo Ancelotti sees no reason to change a winning team. Hajime Moriyasu goes the other way, making four changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Sweden. Two of them are in the back three, where Takehiro Tomiyasu (once of Arsenal) and Shogo Toniguchi come in for Ayumu Seko and Ko Itakura. One is in the pivot, where Kaishu Sano edges out Ao Tanaka. And one is more complicated \u2013 Junya Ito comes in at inside-right, displacing Ritsu Doan, who shifts to right wing-back at the expense of Yukinan Sugawara.<\/p>\n Brazil (4-3-3) Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Santos; Guimaraes, Casemiro, Paqueta; Rayan, Cunha, Vinicius Jr.<\/p>\n Japan (3-4-2-1) Zion Suzuki; Tomiyasu, Toniguchi, Hiroki Ito; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Junya Ito, Maeda; Ueda.<\/p>\n Photograph: Lars Baron\/Getty Images Photograph: Lynn Pennington\/ZUMA Press Wire\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.25 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cIt may be 33-34 degrees in Houston,\u201d says Leo Addor, \u201cbut NRG Stadium is a covered NFL facility with AC. In fact, the guys pitchside on Globo Brazilian TV estimated it\u2019s about 21-22 degrees where they stand. So the heat is not a factor here.\u201d<\/p>\n Point taken \u2013 I did add AC after writing that. Glad to hear it\u2019s 21, not 15. My last experience in an American stadium was reviewing Taylor Swift in Phoenix, Arizona. On a sweltering evening, it was so cold inside the stadium that I very nearly bought a Taylor Swift hoodie.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And now we have an email from Brazil<\/a>. \u201cLove the minute-by-minute reports,\u201d says Tiago Maranhao. Thanks! \u201cI\u2019m writing from Ponta Grossa just to let you know that here in Brazil a knockout stage is called a \u2018mata-mata\u2019 stage (\u2018mata-mata\u2019 would translate as \u2018kill-kill\u2019).<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, that 3-2 was the first (and only) time we lost a match after leading 2\u20130. By the way, here\u2019s another bit of Brazilian football slang: when a team loses a match after scoring the opening goal, we call it a \u2018virada\u2019 (a turnaround).<\/p>\n \u201cJapan is looking sleek, and this is probably the worst squad we\u2019ve ever sent to a World Cup<\/a>, but, still, I think we\u2019ll beat them, 3-1.\u201d A consensus seems to be emerging.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.45 EDT<\/p>\n We have an early email! It\u2019s from Krish Krishnamoorthy, an old friend of this parish. \u201cJapan is not against Brazil<\/a>,\u201d he says firmly, \u201cbut against Don Carlo today and that would make all the difference. I predict a 1-3.\u201d<\/p>\n You may well be right, Krish, but let\u2019s not forget the man whose hand Ancelotti will shortly be shaking. Hajime Moriyasu has been Japan\u2019s manager for eight years and has won no fewer than 74 of his 107 games in charge, if his Wikipedia page<\/a> is to be believed.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The last (and first) World Cup<\/a> match I covered took four hours. That was France v Iraq, the game that, thanks to lightning in Philadelphia, had a two-hour half-time. But lightning doesn\u2019t strike twice and the BBC forecast assures us that Houston will be \u201csunny with a gentle breeze\u201d. Quite toasty too: 33 or 34 degrees \u2013 but the NRG Stadium has air-con.<\/p>\n This place hosted five group games, divided into two distinct types. Three were thrashings: Germany 7-1 Curacao, Netherlands 5-1 Sweden, Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan. But the other two were cagey affairs: Portugal 1-1 DR Congo, Cape Verde 0-0 Saudi Arabia. Can we agree that today\u2019s game could go either way?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.36 EDT<\/p>\n Pre-match reading<\/p>\n It feels as if everyone in football knows Carlo Ancelotti, but Rodrygo, of Real Madrid and Brazil<\/a>, knows him better than most. Ancelotti, he believes, is \u201cdriven by a phenomenal coherence\u201d. Not something that can be said of every manager.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Hello everyone and welcome to the 74th game of this World Cup<\/a>. We\u2019re in the home straight now: only another 20 days to go! But the round of 32 has done some good matchmaking and this pairing looks like a case in point.<\/p>\n