Brazil’s 2-1 round-of-16 victory over Japan was overshadowed by the loss of midfield fulcrum Lucas Paquetá, who suffered a grade-two tear in the posterior of his left thigh late in the first half. The Flamengo player clutched the muscle after an off-the-ball movement, limped to the tunnel at the interval, and was replaced by Endrick. Subsequent imaging confirmed a partial rupture of muscle fibres, and while the Brazilian Football Confederation announced an intensive treatment protocol, the player himself posted a biblical message of perseverance on social media. Brazilian medical sources assess his chances of featuring again in the tournament as remote, effectively ruling him out of Sunday’s quarter-final against Norway in New Jersey.

The Seleção had to overturn a 1-0 deficit after Kaishu Sano’s first-half strike for Japan. Casemiro levelled with a header shortly after the restart, and the winner arrived in the 51st minute of the second half through Gabriel Martinelli, who had been introduced as a second-half substitute in an unfamiliar central-midfield role. The goal was the culmination of a seven-player move that ended with Bruno Guimarães sliding a pass inside for Martinelli to finish. Guimarães now has four assists in the tournament, a statistic that Brazilian commentators hold up as the emblem of Carlo Ancelotti’s collective approach, in which no single attacker is indispensable.

Ancelotti now confronts a selection dilemma. Against Japan, he initially tasked Matheus Cunha with dropping into Paquetá’s left-sided number-eight position when out of possession, before turning to Martinelli as a more permanent solution. The Italian later told reporters he “would not be afraid to experiment with Martinelli as an offensive number eight”, praising the Arsenal forward’s intensity and intelligence. More conventional options include Danilo Santos of Botafogo, who has scored twice in six appearances under Ancelotti, and Atalanta’s Éderson, a natural fit for the role. Neymar, fit again after a muscle tear, could be deployed as an attacking midfielder, though that would demand a broader tactical reshuffle. Raphinha remains a doubt with his own thigh problem, further narrowing Ancelotti’s attacking permutations.

Awaiting Brazil is a Norway side that carries a historical edge. In four previous meetings, the Seleção have never won, drawing twice and losing twice, most notably a 2-1 group-stage defeat at the 1998 World Cup. The current Norwegian generation, built around Erling Haaland, is regarded by European analysts as the country’s most dangerous ever. The quarter-final will reprise the physical duel between Haaland and Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhães, a rivalry forged in the Premier League and now transplanted to the knockout stage of a World Cup.

With Paquetá absent and the attacking lineup unsettled, Ancelotti must devise a midfield that can both contain Haaland’s supply lines and maintain the fluidity that carried Brazil past Japan. The winner at MetLife Stadium will secure a place in the last eight, where the path to the latter stages opens up for a side suddenly forced to prove its depth.