Ancelotti refuses to engage in Japan 'mind games'

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti said he refuses to engage in "mind games" ahead of the round of 32 clash with Japan on Monday. The Seleção take on Japan in one of the more evenly matched first knockout ties on paper. Both sides went unbeaten in the groups, with Brazil drawing 1-1 with Morocco, before beating Haiti and Scotland 3-0 to qualify top of Group C. Japan, meanwhile, drew 2-2 with the Netherlands, before a 4-0 win over Tunisia and a 1-1 draw with Sweden, which was enough to see the Dutch take top spot. Brazil will be the favorites for the match, but Japan have not lost since a 2-0 defeat to the United States in September 2025. Since then, they have gone on a 10-game unbeaten streak, including impressive wins over England at Wembley and Brazil themselves in Tokyo. And it is following that backdrop that Kento Shiogai, the 21-year-old Wolfsburg striker, who has played for just six minutes this tournament alluded to Brazil being fallen giants. He said: "I won't repeat what others say. We're focused on the match, on the opponent's qualities, on preparing well to avoid problems. "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." One of the big moments of Brazil's win over Scotland was the return to the field of Neymar, who made his first Brazil appearance in over three years. - World Cup 2026 Power Rankings after group stage - How did teams qualify for knockout rounds of World Cup? He was, somewhat controversially, called into the squad for the World Cup before a calf injury meant he could not play in either of the friendly matches against Panama or Egypt. The Santos attacker also missed Brazil's two opening matches of the World Cup -- a draw with Morocco and a win against Haiti. But he returned against Scotland and looked dangerous, much to the delight of Ancelotti, who said he is fit to play for more than 15 minutes as he did against Scotland. "Neymar has progressed very well. I think he improved a lot last week," The Italian added. "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."