‘We’re not going there’: Brazil’s Ancelotti shuts down Japan ‘mind games’ ahead of R32 face-off
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘We’re not going there’: Brazil’s Ancelotti shuts down Japan ‘mind games’ ahead of R32 face-off")
‘We’re not going there’ Ancelotti dismisses Japan ‘mind games’ ahead of R32 tie Photograph: (Others)
Carlo Ancelotti shuts down Japan's "mind games" and Kento Shiogai's "fallen giants" jab ahead of Brazil's massive World Cup Round of 32 clash in Houston. Get the latest match updates and Neymar's fitness status.
Brazilian coach Carlo Ancelotti refuses to engage in Japan’s ‘mind games’ ahead of their Round of 32 face-off on Monday (Jun 29). The two teams, who remained unbeaten in their respective groups, will collide in an evenly-matched knockout fixture in Houston. While Brazil settled for a 1-1 draw against Morocco before beating Haiti and Scotland, Japan drew 2-2 with the Netherlands and later beat Tunisia 4-0, wrapping up the group stage with a 1-1 draw against Sweden.
Even though Brazil starts as the favourite against their Asian opponents, Japan hasn’t lost a game since going down to the US in September last year. The notorious giant killers have been on a 10-game winning streak since, including impressive wins over England (at Wembley) and Brazil in Tokyo.
Ahead of this mouth-watering clash, the 21-year-old Kento Shiogai, who has played just six minutes for Japan in this World Cup, remarked that Brazil are 'fallen giants', something Ancelotti was unwilling to comment on.
"I won't repeat what others say. We're focused on the match, on the opponent's qualities, on preparing well to avoid problems," Ancelotti said ahead of the match. “That's what match preparation is about. We're not doing what they call in England 'mind games.' How do you say it in Portuguese? Mind games. We're not going there.”
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‘We’re not going there’ Ancelotti dismisses Japan ‘mind games’ ahead of R32 tie Photograph: (Others)
Update on Neymar's fitness
Meanwhile, another bright side of Brazil’s win against Scotland was Neymar’s first World Cup 2026 appearance. Since suffering an injury ahead of this showpiece event, Neymar has spent most of his time on the sidelines recovering and, later, upon regaining fitness, at the training ground with the squad.
Commenting on his recovery status, Ancelotti said, "Neymar has progressed very well. I think he improved a lot last week. It's a shame he couldn't train the whole time he was with us. He can play more than 15 minutes. He's in good shape. But it depends a lot on the game context and how things develop tomorrow."
