AP:The World Cup's knockout stage is already providing some premier matchups in the round of 32.It's part of a bracket that features an easier road for some teams than others.There are three games today  starting with Brazil vs Japan in Houston. The Brazilians — who won Group C — are five-time World Cup champions but face  tough opponents in Japan, who are ranked No. 17 in the world. The Japanese finished second in Group F with one win and two draws.Group E winners Germany face Paraguay in the day's second game. Germany scored 10 goals in the group stage, tied for the most of any team. Paraguay bounced back from a 4-1 loss to the United States by beating Turkey and fighting to a draw with Australia to narrowly qualify for the knockout stage after finishing third in Group D.The nightcap is a matchup of top-10 teams when the Netherlands face Morocco. The Dutch are often considered the best country to never win a World Cup, while Morocco have jumped into football's elite over the past few years after a surprise run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals in Qatar.

These countries have extremely strong ties with Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.Those ties extend to  football where Brazilian superstar Zico moved to Japan in 1991 to play for the Kashima Antlers and help build Japan’s professional football cer network. He managed the Japan national team from 2002-06, leading the team to the World Cup in 2006.It was in that World Cup where these teams had their first and only meeting in the tournament with Brazil notching a 4-1 victory.Brazil lead the overall series with 11 wins. The teams have played to two draws and Japan collected their  first-ever win over Brazil in a friendly in Tokyo in October. Japan trailed 2-0 at halftime before rallying for the 3-2 victory.Coach Hajime Moriyasu thinks that win will impact how Brazil approach his team Monday.“They will be so much more motivated to play against us,” he said. “They are intent on winning against us. Because of that we feel that the match will be very intense.”The winners will face the winners of Ivory Coast-Norway on July 5 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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