After a crushing 0-4 defeat to defending champion Chile in the opening match, the visiting team Japan made a series of changes to the starting lineup when facing Uruguay.
There are up to 7 locations to be replaced, from the wooden frame to the attack of the "blueSamurai". Meanwhile, La Celeste still plays with experienced stars, most notably the "close-up" Luis Suarez - Edinson Cavani.
Although rated much lower, Japan surprised Uruguay when playing a fair attacking double. Even the first dangerous opportunities belonged to the team from the land of the rising sun. In just the first 10 minutes, Shinji Okazaki twice put Fernando Muslera's goal in an alarming state.
With their youth and enthusiasm, Japan actively approached the competition on the opponent's field. Their bold play made Uruguay really difficult to get on the ball.
After the "piece-for-piece" moves of both sides, when Uruguay gradually regained control of the game, the opening goal came to Japan. In the 25th minute, receiving the ball very well on the right wing, Koji Miyoshi confidently rushed straight into the penalty area before eliminating Diego Laxalt and then finished the shot into the Muslera net.
Although they conceded a surprise goal, Uruguay did not show any signs of being shaky and did not take long to bring the match back to balance. In the 32nd minute, Luis Suarez did not miss the opportunity from the 11m mark when he coolly defeated Eiji Kawashima.
In the previous situation, Naomichi Ueda fouled Cavani in the penalty area and the referee with the help of VAR decided to award La Celeste a penalty.
Before the end of the first half, the Japanese fans had a heart attack when Cavani's long-range shot hit the crossbar. The two teams entered the break with a score of 1-1.
Just 4 minutes later, Cavani almost raised the score to 2-1 for Uruguay. Fortunately for Japan, Cavani's left-footed free kick found the ball at the point between the post and the crossbar of the goal.
Having the opportunity but unable to take advantage, Uruguay once again received a "back-to-back" blow from Japan. In the 59th minute, goalkeeper Muslera could not catch the ball after a cross from the left wing and Miyoshi was present in time to tap the ball into the empty net, completing his own double.
The scenario in the first half was repeated again when Uruguay also only took exactly 7 minutes to balance the score. In the 66th minute, from Nicolas Lodeiro's corner kick, central defender Jose Gimenez made a dangerous header that sent the ball into the far corner of the goal, giving Kawashima no chance to block it.
In the remaining minutes, Uruguay created terrible pressure on the Japanese goal. Striker Suarez even headed the crossbar once, but none of the more goals were scored.
To keep Japan in a draw, Uruguay still maintained the top spot in Group C with 4 points earned after 2 matches. Meanwhile, Japan still has a chance to continue as they only have to meet Ecuador in the final match, while Uruguay has to face the tough opponent Chile.
