Not for the first time in this tournament, there were long periods when Brazil did not impress. And not for the first time in this tournament, they got away with it. It may be inexplicable but the Carlo Ancelotti method that worked at Real Madrid is working again: stay in games and eventually either opponents will make a mistake or brilliant players will do something brilliant.

Brazil were 1-0 down at half-time and struggling. Their earliest ever exit form a World Cup seemed entirely possible. Five players in the Brazil starting lineup were aged over 30, five of the six defensive players – and they looked it. Japan were quicker, slicker, sharper and more imaginative. But the introduction of Endrick and a change of shape and approach at half-time changed everything. Brazil started slinging crosses into the box and Japan wobbled. Casemiro, barely a pedestrian in the first half, headed the equaliser and, deep into injury time, Gabriel Martinelli squeezed in the winner.

Japan had never won a World Cup knockout match, something that their manager Hajime Moriyasu acknowledged has become a psychological issue, so much so that his insistence before the tournament that Japan should be thinking of winning it was seen by many as an attempt to shock them over that issue. They still haven’t, but this is surely the best they have ever performed at a World Cup.

And this was against Brazil, the only team to have appeared in every World Cup, the most successful side in the competition’s history. They had never failed to make the last 16, and had only twice failed to be ranked in the top eight at a tournament.

But to say Japan froze in that second half, that they tightened up with the line in sight, would be unfair. They just found themselves facing a side whose manager had worked them out. It may have been a fifth World Cup exit in the first knockout round, and they may have won only one game at the tournament, but this is clearly a very gifted Japan side even with the injuries to three of their most effective creators. There is no shame in losing a hard-fought knockout tie against another high-class side, no matter the round.

Having taken the game to Tunisia and Sweden, this was more like the Japan that played the Netherlands, content to sit deep and absorb, pressing in staccato bursts. Out of possession Japan were extremely compact, with Vinícius Júnior barely involved, testament to the work done by the right-sided centre-back Takehiro Tomiyasu and the right wing-back Ritsu Doan to shut down the channel in which he likes to operate.

In the first half, the plan worked. Brazil had all the early possession but, beyond a low shot from Matheus Cunha that was pushed wide by Zion Suzuki, they struggled to create clear opportunities and the longer the first half went on, the more Japan threatened. Ayase Ueda headed a corner just over and then, with 29 minutes played, came the goal. Danilo’s attempt to work the ball to the left was intercepted by Kaishu Sano, who surged past Casemiro, an earlier booking perhaps making him wary, and fired a low shot into the corner from just outside the box.

But Ancelotti made his changes and completely transformed the game. The introduction of Endrick and a switch to 4-2-3-1 brought a Brazilian surge, based largely around crosses. A Bruno Guimarães header drew a fine save. Casemiro had an effort cleared off the line that almost cannoned back in off Suzuki. But the equaliser was coming and it arrived after 56 minutes as Casemiro powered in Gabriel Magalhães’s chip with a meaty header. Vini Jr shimmied in from the left but was denied as Suzuki deflected his flicked shot on to the post with his left foot.

Moriyasu reacted by changing his two wingbacks and the flow of chances was staunched, at least to an extent. The threat they had offered in the first half, though, was gone. The winner seemed only a matter of time and sure enough it arrived in the 95th minute. Ao Tanaka was dispossessed on the edge of his own box and, when the ball was worked across the box, Guimarães had the composure to wait and lay the ball left for Martinelli.

Brazil are through and will face the winners of Tuesday’s match between Côte d’Ivoire and Norway. Again, it feels, there are questions to answer. The first half display exposed all their weaknesses, especially in midfield. But the second-half transformation was profound and, once they hit their rhythm, there is no doubting their attacking quality.

The temptation is to think that they cannot keep doing this, that they cannot keep flirting with danger. But Ancelotti’s Madrid used to, and they kept winning the Champions League. Perhaps a sixth World Cup really is on.