Marta captures a moment with Dudinha and Jhonson, highlights of the matches against Japan during this FIFA Date (TV Broadcast)
Marta made a notable return to the starting eleven of Brazil for the second friendly match against Japan, but the spotlight fell on her replacement. Jhonson, a 19-year-old player from Corinthians, made her debut for the national team by coming on for Marta in the 27th minute of the second half. Just six minutes later, she scored the decisive goal to secure a comeback win of 2-1 at the Cícero de Souza Marques stadium in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo.
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Unlike the dominant 3-1 victory in the previous match, Arthur Elias’s team struggled at times, watching Japan squander several chances. Brazil salvaged a draw with an own goal from Ishikawa but clinched a well-deserved comeback with Jhonson’s stunning goal.
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First Half
Marta, who only played half of the second half last Friday, was named a starter, replacing Gio. Alongside her, Adriana and Thaís filled in for Luany and Fê Palermo, respectively. However, Japan exhibited a drastically improved performance, tightly marking Dudinha, who had shined in the previous game, as well as Kerolin.
It was clear from the fifth minute that Japan was playing differently. Seike received a pass, forcing Lorena to rush out and make a crucial save for Brazil. Although Brazil had more possession and secured numerous corner kicks, they struggled to create clear scoring opportunities.
On the other hand, Japan posed a significant threat in their attacks. At the 27th minute, Matsukubo found herself one-on-one with the goal but hit the post. The rebound came back to her, but she misfired, wasting a golden opportunity.
In the subsequent play, Seike received the ball on the right side and took a shot, which Lorena managed to save. The biggest chance came in the 30th minute when Seike outpaced Mariza, made it past the Brazilian goalkeeper, but then squandered the simplest of chances by shooting wide.
Second Half
If Japan didn’t capitalize on their chances during the first half, they didn’t waste their first opportunity of the second half. Just one minute in, Seike connected with Fujino’s pass in the box and opened the scoring for Japan.
The beginning of the second half was challenging for Brazil. However, they lucked into an equalizer when Duda Sampaio’s corner struck Ishikawa’s knee and deflected into the net, resulting in an own goal.
While the equalizer didn’t intimidate Japan, they hit the post again in the 12th minute, with Seike again causing trouble. The turning point came after Arthur Elias made tactical changes, including substituting Dudinha for Gio and bringing on Jhonson for Marta, who was making her first appearance on the national stage.
It was Jhonson, the promising 19-year-old from Corinthians, who ultimately secured the match. After winning the ball in midfield, she passed to Kerolin, who surged forward and then returned the favor to Jhonson, who calmly slotted the ball past the Japanese goalkeeper, scoring the goal that sealed Brazil’s 2-1 victory over Japan.
