Japan won’t have star winger Takefusa Kubo for their World Cup round of 32 match vs. Brazil on Monday in Houston.

Kubo suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee during Japan’s tournament opener against the Netherlands on June 14. He was held out of the Samurai Blue’s remaining group-stage matches against Tunisia and Sweden as he rehabbed his knee.

Kubo — nicknamed “the Japanese Messi” — trained separately from his teammates on Sunday in the portion of practice open to media. But coach Hajime Moriyasu removed any question about Kubo’s status later in the day.

“He’s still only doing individual running (and) training, so he’s not going to play in the match against Brazil,” Moriyasu said. “We really wish for him to recover swiftly, and he wishes it, too.”

Japan were still able to finish second in Group F without Kubo’s services to secure advancement. They have reached the knockouts in three straight World Cups and four of the past five, but Brazil represent a major challenge.

“Brazil are always a leading team,” Moriyasu said. “They have a very good chance of winning. Some people will say Japan are underdogs. We will play with that in mind.

“We will respect the opponents but like last year (in the friendly win) we weren’t given a chance to win. This possibility to win — we can change history.”

–Field Level Media