But Japan hit back after the break, with goals from Takumi Minamino, Keito Nakamura and Ayase Ueda sending the crowd of almost 45,000 wild.

It was Japan's first win over Brazil in 14 attempts.

"Beating Brazil can have a big impact on us going into the World Cup," said Nakamura.

"We still have games to play in November and March, and we want to keep this going."

It was Brazil's second defeat since the Italian Ancelotti took over in May, following a 1-0 away loss to Bolivia in World Cup qualifying.

Ancelotti said his team needed better balance, but vowed to continue experimenting with his lineup before the World Cup.

"We need to learn from the mistakes we made in the second half," said Ancelotti.

"I think the biggest problem was not having a good reaction to the first mistake."