Japan lost to Brazil on Monday afternoon, 2-1, after a stunning late goal.
The result ends the World Cup run for the “Samurai Blue” — the team that has garnered local fans while using Nashville as its base camp throughout the tournament.
More: What you need to know about Team Japan’s stay in Nashville
Reported earlier
The World Cup’s knockout stage will provide some premier matchups, including Monday’s showdown between Japan and Brazil in Houston.
The “Samurai Blue” have been based in Nashville for training and find themselves in a tough matchup against the five-time World Cup champions. Japan is ranked No. 17 in the world.
These countries have extremely strong ties, with Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.
Those ties extend to soccer where Brazilian superstar Zico moved to Japan in 1991 to play for the Kashima Antlers and help build Japan’s professional soccer network. He managed the Japan national team from 2002-06, leading the team to the World Cup in 2006.
It was in that World Cup where these teams had their first and only meeting in the tournament with Brazil notching a 4-1 victory.
Brazil leads the overall series with 11 wins. The teams have played to two draws and Japan collected its first-ever win over Brazil in a friendly in Tokyo in October. Japan trailed 2-0 at halftime before rallying for the 3-2 victory.
George Walker IV AP PhotoJapan head coach Hajime Moriyasu, left, poses with supporters before leaving their training facility in Nashville on Saturday during the World Cup soccer tournament.
Coach Hajime Moriyasu thinks that win will impact how Brazil approaches his team Monday.
“They will be so much more motivated to play against us,” he said. “They are intent on winning against us. Because of that we feel that the match will be very intense.”
The winner will face the winner of Ivory Coast-Norway on July 5 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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