The Samurai reached the last-16 stage in Qatar courtesy of securing top spot in their group ahead of Spain and Germany before losing 2-1 to Croatia, while Uruguay couldn't progress beyond to group stage.
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Japan will return to action for the first time since their impressive World Cup campaign last year, when they host Uruguay in a friendly match at Japan National Stadium on Friday. The Samurai reached the last-16 stage in Qatar courtesy of securing top spot in their group ahead of Spain and Germany before losing 2-1 to Croatia, while Uruguay couldn’t progress beyond to group stage. The previous meeting between these two sides was back in 2019 in the Copa America when the Asian outfit participated in the continental competition as a guest nation. The Sky Blues twice came from behind to level the score at 2-2. Koji Miyoshi scored a brace for the Samurai Blue, while La Celeste found the back of the net through Luis Suarez and Jose Gimenez.
🔹━━━━━
𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐘
━━━━━🔹ここからまた新たな歴史が始まる。
🏆#キリンチャレンジカップ 2023
⌚️19:30KO (🇯🇵)
🆚ウルグアイ🇺🇾
🏟国立競技場
📺#テレビ朝日 系列 #ABEMA にて生中継
📱#TVer でも生配信#夢への勇気を#jfa #daihyo#SAMURAIBLUE #サッカー日本代表 pic.twitter.com/pib5y2Q6B1— サッカー日本代表 🇯🇵 (@jfa_samuraiblue) March 23, 2023
Japan started their World Cup campaign with a come from behind shock 2-1 win over 2014 champions Germany. After that, the Samurai Blue suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica, before, once again fighting back from a goal down to beat Spain 2-1, thanks to second-half goals from Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka. But Hajime Moriyasu’s side couldn’t get past last term’s finalists Croatia in the round of 16 match, losing 3-1 on penalties, after the match ended 1-1 in 120 minutes of play. Japan were one of the giant killers of the tournament and the Samurai Blue will be looking to a bright future.
Uruguay, on the other hand, failed to reach the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time time since 2010. La Celeste started off with a goalless draw against south Korea, before losing 2-0 to Portugal and then, defeated Ghana 2-0 in their final group match on December 2. Giorgian Arrascaeta’s first-half brace helped the South American’s get the better of Black Stars and take their points tally to four from three games, level with second placed South Korea, but separated by the number of goals scored. Uruguay are yet to appoint a permanent replacement for Diego Alonso, who left the managerial position after the World Cup disappointment. Marcelo Broli, who is the current manager of Uruguay Under-20s will lead the team for their next two matches.
Japan Probable Starting Lineup: Schmidt, Itakura, Hashioka, Ito, Machida, Endo, Kamada, Ito, Mitoma, Asano, Maeda
Uruguay Probable Starting Lineup: Rochet, Gonzalez, Coates, Bueno, Vina, Vecino, Valverde, Ugarte, Pellistri, Gomez, Rodriguez
Japan
| Opponents | Score |
| Croatia | 1-2 (L) |
| Spain | 2-1 (W) |
| Costa Rica | 0-1 (L) |
| Germany | 1-2 (W) |
| Canada | 1-2 (L) |
Uruguay
| Opponents | Score |
| Ghana | 0-2 (W) |
| Portugal | 2-0 (L) |
| South Korea | 0-0 (D) |
| Canada | 0-2 (W) |
| Iran | 0-1 (L) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Uruguay draw Japan | 2-2 |
| Japan beat Uruguay | 4-3 |
| Uruguay beat Japan | 0-2 |
| Uruguay beat Japan | 2-4 |
| Uruguay beat Japan | 1-3 |
The international friendly match between Japan and Uruguay will take place at Japan National Stadium on Friday at 4:00 PM IST.
| Japan vs Uruguay | Key Details |
| Date | March 24 |
| Venue | Japan National Stadium |
| Kickoff time in Japan | 7:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in Uruguay | 7:30 am |
| Kickoff time in India | 4:00 pm |
The live telecast of the friendly match between Japan and Uruguay will be available on TV Asahi in Japan. Besides, those in Uruguay can catch the live action via AUFTV and ANTEL TV.
