“Luckiest player of all time”,

Fans on social media have been thrown into disbelief after Gabriel Martinelli scored a late-minute goal that gave Brazil a 2-1 win over Japan. Both sides met in the round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at NRG Stadium on Tuesday, June 29.

During the encounter, the Japanese were the first to open the scoring through Kaishu Sano in the 29th minute. The midfielder weaved his way through Brazil’s defence and released an accurate shot into the bottom left corner of the net, which Alisson couldn’t save.

In the 52nd minute, Zion Suzuki pulled off an excellent save to deny Bruno Guimaraes’ header from going into the back of the net. Four minutes later (56′), Brazil got their equalizing goal through Casemiro. The midfielder relied on a pinpoint cross from Gabriel Magalhaes and planted his header into the back of the net to make the scoreline 1-1.

Three minutes later (59′), Suzuki pulled off a decent save to deny Vinicius Junior from giving Selecao the lead. However, Guimaraes released a brilliant pass to Martinelli, who managed to position himself properly between the defenders and placed the ball into the net in the added time (90+5′).

Meanwhile, Martinelli came into the game as a replacement for Matheus Cunha in the 66th minute and registered a passing accuracy of 100%(13/13). He delivered one key pass and scored a goal despite making only 19 touches of the ball (via Sofascore).

In the game’s aftermath, fans took to X to share their thoughts on the winger’s performance, with one tweeting:

“Martinelli has to be the luckiest player of all time. How does such a terrible player get himself in these positions.”

Other fans posted:

How did Vinicius Junior perform in Brazil’s FIFA World Cup encounter with Japan?

Vinicius Junior was arguably Brazil’s sharpest attacker during their FIFA World Cup encounter with Japan. Despite failing to score, he registered yet another outstanding encounter in the tournament.

In 90 minutes on the pitch, the left-winger registered a passing accuracy of 90% (35/39). He delivered two key passes, registered two shots on target, and won six out of 11 ground duels (via Sofascore).

Vinicius has scored four goals and registered one assist in four appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Selecao will take on the winner of the encounter between Ivory Coast and Norway in the round of 16.