世界杯淘汰赛：马丁内利补时绝杀，巴西二比一惊险淘汰日本

Today we're talking about a very nervy World Cup knockout game: Brazil beat Japan two to one.

Brazil won, but this win wasn't easy at all — they were even close to being knocked out by Japan.

First, a word on the two teams.

Brazil is one of the most famous teams in world soccer, a multiple World Cup winner, very strong.

Japan comes from Asia, has improved a lot in recent years, plays smart, and combines well.

Before the match, everyone thought Brazil would win, but many warned: Japan is no easy opponent.

In recent years, Japanese soccer has improved especially fast.

Many of their players play in European leagues and have seen big occasions.

They don't rely on one or two stars, but on the collective — on running and combination.

So even facing Brazil, Japan showed no stage fright at all.

Let's look at the game.

Surprisingly, it was Japan who scored first.

In the twenty-ninth minute, Japan's Sano scored, one to zero.

Japan led, and the whole stadium was stunned.

Brazil, behind, suddenly shouldered pressure — after all, this is the knockouts, and losing means going home.

Behind, Brazil began attacking with all their might, pinning Japan in their own half.

In the fifty-sixth minute, Brazil's veteran Casemiro finally leveled the score, one to one.

The two teams were back on the same line.

Next, Brazil kept attacking, but Japan defended very tenaciously, and the score stayed one to one.

It looked set to go to extra time, maybe even penalties, and the tension kept rising.

Right at the last moment of the game, a dramatic scene appeared.

In stoppage time, Brazil's Martinelli seized a chance and scored the winner.

Two to one!

Brazil completed a winner before the final whistle.

The whole stadium erupted, Brazil's players rushing over to celebrate wildly, while Japan's players looked crushed.

How to view this game?

For Brazil, this is a nervy win.

As title favorites, they nearly came unstuck against Japan, but on the strength of quality and experience, they took the game at the final moment.

Still, this game is a reminder for Brazil: there are no weak teams in the knockouts, and to win the title, they must be more focused.

For Japan, though they lost, their performance was outstanding.

Facing a super-power like Brazil, they not only weren't afraid but scored first, making Brazil very uncomfortable for a while.

Sadly, conceding at the last moment, they brushed past advancing.

But this game, Japan won the world's respect, and showed everyone that Asian soccer is growing stronger and stronger.

This game also illustrates a feature of strong teams: the more crucial the moment, the more they can hold firm.

When behind, Brazil didn't panic, attacking patiently, trusting the chance would come.

In the end, on that experience and belief, they forced the game their way in stoppage time.

This ability of "not giving up even when behind, always finding a way at the end" is exactly what's most fearsome about a strong team.

That's Brazil two to one Japan — a knockout game Brazil scraped through.