Japan beat Brazil 3-2 in stoppage time in friendly as Ancelotti and Raphinha are sent off

Japan's national football team beat Brazil 3-2 in a friendly at the National Stadium in Singapore on Saturday, with substitute Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scoring the winner in stoppage time. It was his first international goal. Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti and forward Raphinha were both shown red cards for protesting against the referee's decision. The result gave Japan a measure of revenge for their defeat by Brazil in the World Cup round of 32 in June.

How the match unfolded

Japan led 2-0 within the opening 19 minutes through goals from Takefusa Kubo and Keito Nakamura. Brazil drew level thanks to two goals from Vinicius Jr.

In stoppage time, Sakamoto reacted first to a deflected effort from Kodai Sano and fired home. Brazil appealed for a foul in the build-up, but VAR (the video assistant referee system) let the goal stand. The match was watched by 38,688 spectators.

The red cards

Ancelotti said referee Jansen Foo sent him off because he judged that the manager could not control the bench and that all the players were on the pitch. Raphinha was led away by midfielder Marlon Gomes and team officials as he tried to approach the referee, who was instead confronted by Vinicius and Bruno Guimaraes.

Ancelotti said the result was influenced by the refereeing but did not blame the official, suggesting he may have lacked the experience for a match at this level. Brazil captain Raphinha apologised for his behaviour but called the refereeing errors unacceptable. He pointed to a foul before Japan's first goal, a penalty he felt was denied in the first half, and a foul on Joao Gomes before the third goal.

Japan's coach set to leave

Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu called it the best match of his eight years in charge and said his players performed at the world's top standard. The 58-year-old is expected to step down after Tuesday's friendly against Paraguay and hand over to successor Go Oiwa.