23' - Brazilian legends Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, and Oscar are all in attendance in Houston tonight! Meanwhile, Brazil have a free-kick near the byline, but play is temporarily paused as the players move towards the touchline for a quick hydration break.

14' - Yellow Card! Casemiro goes into the referee's book for a foul on Ito on the edge of the box. Japan win a free-kick from a dangerous position. However, Daichi Kamada's attempt hits the wall and goes out for a corner.

9' - A long ball is played towards Danilo on the right flank. He lets it drop and lifts the ball in towards the far post. Paquetá chests it down and takes a shot, but it is blocked. Guimaraes fires a shot on the rebound, but Japan scramble it clear!

5' - It's been all Brazil in the first five minutes! They win a free-kick after Asano brings down Vinicius. Two men stand over the set piece, but it's Bruno who takes it. He floats a dangerous ball into the centre and Suzuki almost spills it, but the keeper makes a timely recovery!

1' - We are underway! Early chance for Brazil! Cunha's left-footed effort deflected off a defender for a corner. That was a great attack from the Selecao!

The two sets of players emerge from the tunnel at the Houston Stadium. First up is Brazil's national anthem, to be followed by Japan's. There is a massive Brazilian presence in the stands tonight, no doubt aided by Houston's geographical proximity.

For the other Brazilian players, this is just a knockout tie. But for Neymar, it's a reunion with his favourite opponent. The Selecao's all-time top scorer already has nine goals to his name against the Samurai Blue-more than he has managed against South American minnows Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

Brazil XI: Alisson (GK), Gabriel Magalhaes, Marquinhos, Danilo, Douglas Santos, Casemiro, Bruno Guimaraes, Lucas Paqueta, Vinicius Junior, Matheus Cunha, Rayan

Japan XI: Zion Suzuki (GK), Shogo Taniguchi, Hiroki Ito, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ritsu Doan, Daizen Maeda, Keito Nakamura, Junya Ito, Daichi Kamada, Kaishu Sano, Ayase Ueda.

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Japan forward Kento Shiogai sparked major controversy after he claimed that Neymar "wasn't the same anymore" and suggested that Brazil no longer command the same level of respect as it once did.

However, Brazil defender Marquinhos took a jibe at Shiogai, saying that their opponents are focused on talking, while they prioritise doing their job with humility.

"It's good that they keep talking to keep motivating our team. We've been in the United States for a month, working with a lot of humility. We leave that talk to the opponents, let them keep talking a lot to motivate us," the defender stated as quoted by Goal.com.

Veteran defender Yuto Nagatomo feels Japan's rate of improvement in football has outpaced Brazil's in recent years. However, Japan has never beaten Brazil in a competitive fixture. Their only win against the five-time champions came during a friendly last year, which they won 3-2 after staging a comeback.

Speaking on the eve of the match, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti said Neymar's fitness has improved considerably over the past week. The 34-year-old Neymar, who missed the first two games of the FIFA World Cup, came off the bench in the closing stages in Brazil's comfortable victory against Scotland by 3-0.

"In the last week, his progress has been significant," Ancelotti told reporters on Sunday, as quoted by Reuters. Unfortunately, he could not play longer than 15 minutes before, but he is now doing well enough to play more."

Hello and welcome to NDTV Sports' live coverage of the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 clash between Brazil and Japan. We are coming to you live from Houston, where a coveted place in the pre-quarterfinals is up for grabs!

Stay tuned for all the live updates!