Gabriel Martinelli's Last-Minute Heroics Propel Brazil to World Cup Last 16
Gabriel Martinelli stepped off the bench and into Brazilian World Cup folklore with a 96th‑minute winner, sealing a 2-1 comeback victory over Japan and dragging the Selecao into the last 16.
One chance. One clean strike. One stadium stunned into silence before erupting.
Brazil rescued at the death
For long spells in Houston, this looked like one of those nights that haunt giants and make legends out of underdogs. Carlo Ancelotti’s side went in at half-time trailing, Japan full of belief and precision.
Kaishu Sano’s opener on 29 minutes was no fluke. The Samurai Blue had been sharp, disciplined, and ruthless when the moment came, punishing Brazil and carrying a lead into the break that felt entirely earned.
Brazil needed a spark. They found it 11 minutes after the restart.
Gabriel, ever-present at this tournament, produced a gorgeous cross from the right, arcing the ball to the back post. Casemiro met it with the kind of header that comes from years of big-game muscle memory, steering it past Zion Suzuki to level the tie and release a wave of Brazilian relief.
The game swung into a tense arm-wrestle. Japan refused to fold. Brazil, for all their possession, could not quite find the final touch.
So Ancelotti turned to Martinelli.
A Premier League move, a World Cup finish
Introduced late to double the Arsenal influence on the pitch, Martinelli brought urgency and menace. Still, as the clock ticked into stoppage time, extra-time loomed.
Then came the move that changed everything – a goal built in the Premier League, finished with Brazilian cold blood.
Bournemouth’s Rayan snapped into a challenge on the edge of the box, winning back possession at exactly the right moment. The ball broke to Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle United’s captain, who saw what others didn’t. One touch to steady, one look up, then a perfectly weighted, threaded pass into Martinelli’s stride.
Martinelli took a touch, opened his body and slid the ball past Suzuki with ruthless calm. It kissed the post on its way in, the kind of detail that lives forever in a striker’s memory. Net bulging, arms outstretched, Brazil’s bench exploded onto the pitch.
Afterwards, Martinelli could barely contain the emotion.
"I don't even have words to describe the joy that is in my heart right now, to see all the Brazilian people happy with the qualification, all my family, I don't even have a way to explain what I'm feeling right now," he said. He recalled hitting the post days earlier and feeling another chance would come. It did, and he took it.
The goal was his fifth for Brazil, on the night of his 26th cap. Gabriel, the provider for Casemiro’s equaliser, now sits on 21 caps, having started all four of Brazil’s World Cup games so far. Both are no longer just squad figures – they are central to this campaign.
Next up is a meeting with either Norway or Ivory Coast on Sunday. A potential clash with Martin Odegaard would guarantee Arsenal representation in the quarter-finals and add another intriguing subplot to Brazil’s journey.
Havertz strikes, but Germany fall again
While Brazil surged on, Germany stumbled out.
Kai Havertz did what he could, scoring the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Paraguay, only to see his night – and his tournament – end in another penalty shootout collapse.
Julio Enciso had put Paraguay in front three minutes before half-time, a blow that deepened German anxiety given the scars of recent tournaments. Havertz dragged his country back into it, timing his run to meet a Florian Wirtz cross and guiding a header home to level the match.
Germany pushed, thought they had found a late saviour when Jonathan Tah scored in extra-time, only for the goal to be ruled out. The momentum vanished. The shootout arrived.
Paraguay held their nerve. Germany did not.
Havertz, who had done so much to keep his side alive, became one of three German players to miss from the spot as Paraguay completed a shock elimination.
“I’m speechless. My second World Cup, and we’ve messed up for the second time. The last few tournaments were a disaster. The only thing I can say is I’m sorry,” Havertz admitted, his words as blunt as the outcome. “We players need to take a long, hard look at ourselves. We’re playing for a huge country with a rich football history."
Two Arsenal forwards, two wildly different nights. One walking off as Brazil’s last‑minute hero, the other walking away from another German inquest.
The World Cup rarely deals in half measures.
