Time for me to go and find a piece of cheese and a glass of wine. I will raise that glass to Casemiro, who pretty much provided a goal for either side – the first with his slow old legs, the second with his wise old head.

Thanks for your company and some high-class correspondence, led by Richard Hirst’s jibe at the traffic cone, which turned into a meme before our eyes. Do join Rob Smyth for the late game, Germany v Paraguay, kicking off in an hour’s time. And do read Jonathan Wilson’s match report frm Houston, which gets off to a lovely measured start, much like an Ancelotti masterclass.

If you emailed in vain, I can only apologise – the inbox has been inundated. Here’s one from about 45 minutes ago that hasn’t been overtaken by events. “Hello from the Brooklyn fan park,” says Matt Jeary. “I am here with my 17-year-old son Isaac in our England shirts.” Proper parenting.

“The crowd are mainly Brazilian, a smattering of Japan supporters ( we are throwing our support behind them), and then a few German, Colombian and Mexican fans and a lonely-looking Scot.

“It’s a very nice fan park, right under Brooklyn Bridge and spitting distance from the ITV studio. The huge drawback is the free tickets are released 24 hours in advance, so lots of disappointed supporters being turned away.” The lonely-looking Scot is a lovely touch.

Out on the pitch, Hajime Moriyasu is giving a speech to his squad. Next time there’s a vacancy at one of the big European clubs, I hope his name is mentioned.

On ITV, they’ve updated the World Cup bracket. Brazil, who are top of the bottom half, will now play Norway or Cote d’Ivoire. That should be a good game too.

This one was so good that, at the end, Roy Keane said “What a match!” A collector’s item.

“The great thing about old familiar cones,” says Justin Kavanagh, “is that when you have the ball, you know exactly where they’re going to be standing. All you have to do is find them with the cross!”

“Pleased with how Japan played,” says Joseph Trivers. “They did well, but injuries are having an effect on all teams. What might have been with a healthy Endo, Minamino, Mitoma, Kubo...

“Congratulations,” he adds, “to Brazil.” Sportsmanship is not dead.

“This has been eerily reminiscent of Japan’s games against Belgium in
2018 and Croatia in 2022,” says Kári Tulinius. “Japan started really well, but ran out of steam. I don’t think Brazil were necessarily the better team, but as the match wore on, the Japanese lost all ability to create dangerous chances. I don’t think Tanaka had a meaningful touch after he came on as a substitute. Thank you for minute-by-minuting a fascinating match.”

I’m not sure I did it justice! But thanks.

Both the Brazilian assists were top-class too. A cross from a centre-back (Big Gabi), and a crisp little ball from a midfielder (Guimaraes).

It was an intriguing tussle between two fine managers. Hajime Moriyasu won the first half with his superb organisation, helped by a great strike from the controversial Kaishu Sano. Carlo Ancelotti won the second half, and the game, with two decisions about subs.

The first decision was not to haul Casemiro off at half-time. One old boy rewarded the other with a typically excellent header. The second was to send on Martinelli, not on the left wing, but in left midfield. He popped up in the box in the 96th minute with a cool, calm winner.

90+9 min The assist was from Guimaraes, the best thing he did in a patchy performance. He’s gone off now.

90+7 min Gabriel Martinelli was between the lines at inside-left. He received a neat pass, took a neat touch and played a neat pass onto the inside of the far post. Simple!

90+3 min This is the third of six added minutes, which may well stretch to eight. Endrick wins a corner and Fabinho’s first act is to send a looping header over the bar.

90+1 min Casemiro gets up but only to walk off, clutching his groin. I do hope that’s not the end of his tournament.

89 min Casemiro is sitting on the ground, getting some attention from the physio. It looks as if Fabinho may come on to replace him.

88 min Rayan wins another free kick from J Suzuki, who is flirting with a red card here. His blushes are spared by Z Suzuki, who comes out to meet the free kick with a firm punch. Vini Jr has a shot, deflected wide. The shot count is now 16-5.

87 min In a shock development, Japan head upfield. They even surprise themselves but fail to trouble Alisson.

85 min The free kick is well struck, by Rayan I think, and headed over by a defender. The corner leads to a half-chance for Guimaraes, another for his collection. He goes for an ambitious chip with the outside of his right foot, which goes wide.

84 min Japan go ahead in the other contest, for most yellow cards. They’re now 3-2 up as Rayan bursts down the right and J Suzuki brings him down.

82 min Yet more possession for Brazil, but it’s all too slow.

“As we say at Arsenal,” advises Peter Mumola, “just use Big Gabi (Magalhaes) and Little Gabi (Martinelli).”

80 min The official attendance is 68,000 – and now, as throughout, it sounds like more than that.

78 min Two more subs for Japan: off go Junya Ito and Kamada (of Palace), on come Machino and Tanaka (of Leeds).

75 min Brazil are dominating the ball again, which means both sides are playing to their strengths. Martinelli tries a shot, but it loops wide.

73 min Another fine cross from Gabriel (Magalhaes, not Martinelli) leads to a Brazil corner, but nothing comes of it.

72 min Martinelli’s first contribution is a foul. He seems to be playing in left midfield, with Endrick up front.

65 min Subs for Japan, too, as Moriyasu replaces both his wing-backs, Doan and Nakamura. They’ve been extra full-backs a lot of the time and they may well be knackered. On come Sugawara and Junnosuke Suzuki.

The Suzukis are a bit like the Bellinis of Venice, as described in Brideshead Revisited. “Which of the Bellinis did you like best?” Laurence Olivier asked Jeremy Irons in the Channel 4 version.

“I didn’t know there were two.”

Olivier, triumphantly: “There are three!”

65 min Gabriel Martinelli seems to be coming on – not for Vini Jr, surely? No, for Cunha, so maybe Vini will move into the middle.

63 min Now it’s Rayan who makes his presence felt in the inside-right channel. But the next attempt on goal comes at the other end as Ueda drills a shot in from the left, saved by Alisson.

61 min Half an hour to go, and at this rate we may get another half-hour after that. The goal was Casemiro’s tenth for Brazil, in his 90th appearance. And it was yet another feather in Ancelotti’s cap: so many people would have taken Casemiro off.

59 min Casemiro was lurking on the six-yard line, played onside – just – by the nearest defender. For the first time, Japan’s rearguard put a foot wrong.

58 min Brazil hit the post! Also, save!! It’s Vini Jr, dancing through the area, and flicking with the outside of his right foot. And it’s Suzuki, doing just enough to keep it out.

57 min “Yes!” says Zafar Sobhan. “The traffic cone!”

53 min Chances at both ends! Casemiro, so good in the air, has a diving header cleared off the line. Then Japan race off on the counter, with Brazil’s ageing legs unable to keep up, and blow a chance to make it 2-0.

51 min Chance for Guimaraes! A lovely chip from Danilo, a meaty header – but straight at Suzuki.

50 min Endrick sneaks into the area, only to let Cunha down with a loose ball. On the touchline, Neymar is warming up, pour encourager les autres.

49 min A second yellow card for Brazil as Danilo puts an arm in a face. He looks dismayed but it’s fair enough. I make it 2-2 in terms of yellows.

48 min Endrick gets an early touch, combining crisply with Cunha, and Brazil already look more direct.

46 min Carlo Ancelotti has sent on a sub. But not for Casemiro – off goes Lucas Paqueta, and on goes Endrick. That should raise the temperature in this air-con cathedral.

“Hey again,” says Mariana Berg, who last appeared at 17:26 BST. “I just wanted to thank you for mentioning that ‘Sano is Japan’s Thomas Partey, a man accused of rape.’ You and your colleagues are doing such a great job, not just at giving us great articles and MBMs with great humour, but also addressing these issues that are not always talked about.

“I have to tell you, it is so frustrating, watching football as a woman and wanting to cheer on the players and countries, but also so darn frequently having to learn that some people in front of and behind the scenes are pigs. It’s like listening to music, or watching films, or ... well, you know, basically all areas of life.”

“I play on an Over-30 pub team,” says Russell Eberts, “and I’m not sure I would pick Casemiro in our midfield. The only consistent part of his game these days is picking up obvious yellow cards.”

To be fair, he was good for Man United this past season, and even better once Michael Carrick arrived. Just put it on his head!

“This game is electrifying,” says Kev the Poet, “but the commentary from Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon is like two men comparing tins of emulsion paint.” The similes are on fire.

“I’m one of those,” says Gregory Phillips, “who’ve always wondered — perhaps unfairly — how much of Ancelotti’s success has come from having already-great teams and players at his disposal. Very interested to see if he can influence the outcome here.

“I have my doubts — both about his tactical nous and Brazil’s capacity to do much differently — but I’m excited to see what they do.”

“I’m glad Casemiro seems to be living up to my pre-match billing,” says Richard Hirst, “although I would like to apologise to traffic cones everywhere for the rather demeaning comparison.”

45+3 min We’re having four extra minutes, ie only one on top of the hydration quota. Japan are still hell-bent on improving their possession stats, which have rocketed from 23 to 33 in the past five minutes.

45 min Finally Brazil threaten to counter and Kamada takes a yellow card for the team. “Without the ball,” says Lee Dixon, “Brazil are shocking.”

41 min Japan’s turn to have the ball for a bit. They get a cross in from the right, then the left. Nothing doing, but more grist for Don Carlo’s mill at half-time.

“Are you sure there are only 11 Japanese players on the field?” says Krish. “This is some anaconda level of defending. They are squeezing the life out of Brazil.”

40 min Another bad moment for Casemiro, who has his pocket picked all too easily by Maeda, and may be relieved to see the thief run out of room on the right.

37 min Lucas Paqueta and Matheus Cunha have a spat about runs or the lack of them. Cunha does get a shot away just after that, but it’s another tame one.

35 min Brazil are playing with urgency now, twisting and flicking as if it was the 85th minute, not the 35th. But the Japanese are defending as if their lives depended on it. Doan, who was playing as a forward the other day, is putting in a hell of a shift as the second right-back.

34 min Brazil, stung into action, get Vini Jr into the game. He drifts inside, away from his three markers, and takes a shot from the D that is easily saved.

33 min Sano is Japan’s Thomas Partey, a man accused of rape. (The charge was reportedly dropped after a large payment was made to the victim.) And, more trivially, he could have been sent off in this game after arguably fouling Cunha when already on a yellow. But he may now be a hero in Japan. That was his first goal in international football.

30 min There was a bit of ping-pong in midfield, but then, suddenly, Sano was off and running. He went past Casemiro as if he wasn’t there and drilled a right-foot shot into the far corner. Game on!

27 min Chance for Japan! A corner comes in and Ayase Ueda, their striker, jumps high, only to send his header over the bar.

26 min Hydration email! “Why are Japan wearing their white away kit when there would have been no colour clash if they had worn their normal blue?” asks Cathal Chu. “Premier League sides wearing the second or third kits when there’s no clash because they’re contracted to wear that kit a number of times a year is one of my biggest pet peeves.” Cathal, you are not alone.

23 min Cunha bursts down the left and goes down in the face of a challenge from Sano. The Italian ref doesn’t see anything in it.

21 min A crossfield ball finds Vini Jr near the byline, but the threat is soon snuffed out. Ancelotti looks mildly perturbed. He’s in a cardigan under his suit, while Moriyasu is in a waistcoat. Remind you of anyone?

17 min Japan are in the Brazilian half again, but there’s a handball against Junya Ito, who then joins Doan behind him in doubling up on Vini Jr. And that’s before Vini gets to Tomiyasu at the back. I suspect he’ll find a way through, but it may take a while.

17 min “Vinicius has hardly had a kick,” says Lee Dixon. He sees it as a sign that Japan’s wing-backs are working.

16 min The free kick is in a dangerous zone, at inside-left. It hits the wall and goes out for a corner.

16 min “I see your early yellow,” says Casemiro to Sano, “and I raise you an even more blatant one.”

14 min Half-chance! To Brazil – Mateus Cunha, curling a shot from the edge of the box on his weaker foot, his left. He hits it well enough wo win a corner, which then brings anothr shot from Guimaraes. He’s getting closer.

12 min After a little spell of Japanese possession, Brazil break at pace with Vini Jr. And the first yellow card goes to Sano, for treading on Vini’s foot.

10 min The Brazilians are now stringing some passes together. A through ball finds Danilo making a good run down the right. He hooks it back, but the only shot comes from Guimaraes, and it hits Paqueta. Friendly fire.

7 min Brazil have a free kick on the left. In it comes and Suzuki is fearless (coming out to grab it), if a little careless (dropping it before gratefully reclaiming it).

6 min Another misfire from Guimaraes, who has time to curl in a good cross but rushes it.

“Good morning from China,” says Alexandra Fullerton. “It’s 1am here and this is the one I’ve really been looking forward to. I am really hoping for a Japan win here and believe they’ve got the ability to do it. I’ve started to sweat in anticipation of this match although it could also be because I’ve just turned the air con off! It’s now only 26C which is quite the result!”

5 min The first glimpse of Vini Jr as he chases a high ball into the box, but Japan’s goalie, Suzuki, gets there first.

4 min It’s end to end already. Maeda races down the left for Japan and is a bit miffed not to be given a corner.

3 min Now Brazil snap into gear, and have a shot! It’s Bruno Guimaraes, not finding any power but still winning a corner. He takes it himself and doesn’t get that right either.

2 min It’s Japan who get forward first. Alisson makes a less than composed clearance, but gets away with it.

1 min Brazil, in their classic yellow shirts, kick off. Japan are in white shirts with black shorts.

The stadium is a magnificent sight. From the outside: a cross between an office and a spaceship. From the inside: a Brazilian party.

Time for the anthems, led by the rip-roaring Brazilian earworm. One of the many things to love about Ancelotti is the way he joins in. It may be the most animated he gets in the whole game.

In a few minutes, all eyes will be on Vinicius Jr. Especially the eyes of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has the task of trying to stop him as he bears down on the box. More about Vini here.

“So excited for this one,” says Thomas Krantz, “even though I think Brazil will win it in normal time. I just hope Japan doesn’t wait to turn on the ignition until they are behind, as has happened in their previous games. Also, what Taylor Swift song will best caption this game? I will go with You’re On Your Own, Kid, which is probably what Ancelotti is saying to Vini right now.”

And here it is. But I believe there’s a little-known rule stating that we’re only allowed to link to one Taylor Swift song in each World Cup match, so that’s your lot.

And here’s Simon McMahon. “Afternoon Tim. I echo the previous sentiments regarding the MBM. A strange, yet familiar, community.” That’s us!

“I have no insight to offer, so will leave that to others, but I think I’m safe in saying that Japan will provide Brazil with a sterner examination than Scotland did. A seven-goal thriller would be nice.”

That’s enough backslapping – we have a less satisfied customer. “Ah Tim, why do you bring up the heartbreak again?” asks Mariana Berg, quoting my line about Brazil winning easily the only other time they met Japan at the World Cup (4-1 in Germany, 20 years ago). “It still hurts.” Sorry!

“I hadn’t ever watched a big football event before, but having been an avid manga and anime fan, I was excited to watch Japan in the World Cup 2006 in my home country.

“What I remember is that – to my recollection – at that time Japan’s one goal had been the first goal against Brazil since the autumn of 2005 or so, so ... result! And then the heartbreak.

“I’ll watch the game today from the same place as 2006, Berlin, and look forward to revenge a good game.” Ha.

“Reporting from Chicago, IL,” says Rajat Khandelwal. “Long time lurker across sports, first time poster.” Congratulations on opening your account.

“MBMs are often more fun than the games themselves, mixing in niche references which send me down rabbit holes with exhilarating text in bold for goals and wickets providing a fun break from my day job.” We aim to exhilarate.

“Rooting for the Asian and African teams to win it all! Go Japan and Morocco!”

“Consensus,” exclaims Richard Hirst, “get thee behind me! If they weren’t called Brazil would we be so readily predicting victory for a team whose playmaker spent most of last season failing to prevent West Ham being relegated, whose defensive midfielder has all the mobility of a traffic cone, whose…… well, you get my drift.

“Yes, they’ll probably win, but if Japan get in amongst them there could be a surprise.” For sure.

Outside the World Cup bubble, Manchester City have confirmed the identity of their new manager. To nobody’s surprise, it’s Enzo Maresca. Our man in Manchester, Jamie Jackson, has been working out what he needs to do.

“I would second the comment about MBMs,” says Allan Castle, taking the baton from Tiago. “Yesterday, while hosting a watch party for the Canada v South Africa game at our home here in British Columbia, we became aware at a certain point that the game was not necessarily of the highest quality. Every now and then, I would amuse the crowd by saying, ‘Let’s see what the English think of this,’ and reading out the latest wry comment to roars of laughter / looks of incomprehension. (Canada had the last laugh, mind you.)

“By all that, I simply mean to say that for decades now these reports have been a lifeline and a source of good fun. Thank you to you and your colleagues for your excellent work, and long may you continue.” Well thank you, Allan. It’s about 99% my colleagues, led by the great Rob Smyth and Scott Murray. But I hope I can speak for us all when I say that being read aloud at watch parties in British Columbia is beyond our wildest dreams.

“It may be 33-34 degrees in Houston,” says Leo Addor, “but NRG Stadium is a covered NFL facility with AC. In fact, the guys pitchside on Globo Brazilian TV estimated it’s about 21-22 degrees where they stand. So the heat is not a factor here.”

Point taken – I did add AC after writing that. Glad to hear it’s 21, not 15. My last experience in an American stadium was reviewing Taylor Swift in Phoenix, Arizona. On a sweltering evening, it was so cold inside the stadium that I very nearly bought a Taylor Swift hoodie.

And now we have an email from Brazil. “Love the minute-by-minute reports,” says Tiago Maranhao. Thanks! “I’m writing from Ponta Grossa just to let you know that here in Brazil a knockout stage is called a ‘mata-mata’ stage (‘mata-mata’ would translate as ‘kill-kill’).

“Also, that 3-2 was the first (and only) time we lost a match after leading 2–0. By the way, here’s another bit of Brazilian football slang: when a team loses a match after scoring the opening goal, we call it a ‘virada’ (a turnaround).

“Japan is looking sleek, and this is probably the worst squad we’ve ever sent to a World Cup, but, still, I think we’ll beat them, 3-1.” A consensus seems to be emerging.

We have an early email! It’s from Krish Krishnamoorthy, an old friend of this parish. “Japan is not against Brazil,” he says firmly, “but against Don Carlo today and that would make all the difference. I predict a 1-3.”

You may well be right, Krish, but let’s not forget the man whose hand Ancelotti will shortly be shaking. Hajime Moriyasu has been Japan’s manager for eight years and has won no fewer than 74 of his 107 games in charge, if his Wikipedia page is to be believed.

The last (and first) World Cup match I covered took four hours. That was France v Iraq, the game that, thanks to lightning in Philadelphia, had a two-hour half-time. But lightning doesn’t strike twice and the BBC forecast assures us that Houston will be “sunny with a gentle breeze”. Quite toasty too: 33 or 34 degrees – but the NRG Stadium has air-con.

This place hosted five group games, divided into two distinct types. Three were thrashings: Germany 7-1 Curacao, Netherlands 5-1 Sweden, Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan. But the other two were cagey affairs: Portugal 1-1 DR Congo, Cape Verde 0-0 Saudi Arabia. Can we agree that today’s game could go either way?