The World Cup has always belonged to dreamers. Every four years, countries arrive that believe history can be rewritten.
However, in the knockout rounds of the tournament there is little time for romance as these dreams collide with football’s oldest powers.
For Japan, that moment arrives in Houston on Monday. The Samurai Blue have become one of the most consistent overachievers in the world. Since 1998, they have emerged from difficult groups four times, but Japan has yet to win a knockout match at the Men’s World Cup.
This time, standing in the way is a country that has lifted the trophy more than any other country.
FIFA World Cup 2026 – Japan looks to break knockout jinx against heavyweight Brazil in round of 32
Brazil has won the FIFA World Cup a record five times, while Japan, which has reached the round of 16 four times, has never won a knockout match in the tournament.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/holly-madison-062926-276a45fc5d204be2afa1b3c95a558569.jpg?w=238&resize=238,178&ssl=1 "Holly Madison explica su decisión de someterse a una cirugía plástica después del aumento de peso durante el embarazo: «No había nada que pudiera hacer»")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/holly-madison-062926-276a45fc5d204be2afa1b3c95a558569.jpg?w=100&resize=100,75&ssl=1 "Holly Madison explica su decisión de someterse a una cirugía plástica después del aumento de peso durante el embarazo: «No había nada que pudiera hacer»")
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/61/75/6175f9d6-34ff-45d0-81d1-a135fb58acde/027_9780374609559.jpg?w=100&resize=100,75&ssl=1 "Los artistas queer Peter Hujar y Paul Thek aprovechan su relación íntima para crear obras únicas del siglo XX
|")
