Dortmund, Germany (My Sportsbook) - After suffering a 3-1 defeat to Australia in its opening match and finishing in a scoreless draw with Croatia in its second, Japan needs at least a win against Brazil Thursday to have a chance at advancing to the Round of 16.

Even with a victory, the Japanese would still be dependent on the Croatia- Australia match. Japan needs Croatia to win, and then the tiebreaker would be goal differential. Croatia currently holds a one-goal advantage over the Asian nation.

Japan will be without captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto on Thursday. The 29-year-old defender received his second yellow card of the tournament against Croatia. Japan head coach Zico will most likely fill the gap with Yuji Nakazawa and Keisuke Tsuboi on the back line.

Brazil heads to Dortmund with a game to spare. The reigning World Cup champion sealed a second-round berth with a win against Australia. The Brazilians will clinch the top spot in Group F with at least a draw. Brazil head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira will most likely rest his key players. He may also sideline Ronaldo, Cafu, Emerson and Robinho, who all have yellow cards.

Japan has never been able to defeat Brazil in their previous seven meetings. The teams, however, did finish with a draw on two occasions. The most recent was a 2-2 tie in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany.