Japan continued to struggle in World Cup knockout rounds after they were eliminated from the 2026 edition with a 1-2 defeat against Brazil in the round of 32, remaining unable to reach a quarter-final for the first time in their history.
Japan lost to Brazil in dramatic fashion in stoppage time, having led in the first half through a goal from Kaishu Sano in the 29th minute, before Brazil came back in the second half with Casemiro equalising, then Gabriel Martinelli scoring the winner in the 96th minute.
The defeat cemented a negative record and a historic curse for the Japanese national team, having failed to win in any knockout-round match throughout their World Cup history — 5 matches without managing to advance to the next stage in any of them.
Since their debut at the World Cup in 1998, Japan exited at the group stage in the 1998, 2006, and 2014 editions, while they bowed out of the 2002 edition in the round of 16 against Turkey, and repeated the same fate in 2010 against Paraguay on penalty kicks.
Japan fell in the round of 16 again at the 2018 edition in Russia against Belgium, having squandered a two-goal lead to lose 2-3, then departed the most recent 2022 edition in Qatar at the same stage against Croatia on penalty kicks.
The curse was reinforced by the end of Japan's run at the current World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico — which saw the introduction of the round of 32 following the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams — at the hands of Brazil, as the Samurai Blue's knockout-stage hex continues.