SINGAPORE, Nov 15 — Substitute Tatsuhiro Sakamoto netted his first international goal with a late winner as Japan edged Brazil 3-2 in a thrilling friendly at the National Stadium in Singapore yesterday.

A brilliant brace by Vinicius Junior had erased a two-goal deficit after strikes by Takefusa Kubo and Keito Nakamura put the Samurai Blue 2-0 up in the opening 19 minutes.

But Sakamoto was in the right place to fire home after latching on to Kodai Sano’s deflected effort in stoppage time to give the Asian side a dramatic victory in front of 38,688 fans.

In the first meeting between the teams since Brazil’s 2-1 win in the round of 32 at the World Cup last June, the Samurai Blue seized the early initiative with two goals in a torrid four-minute spell.