SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) defeated the Uruguay National Team 3-1 in the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2026 at Q&A Stadium Miyagi on Thursday 24 September, with goals from MATSUKI Kuryu (Southampton FC), SHIOGAI Kento (VfL Wolfsburg) and UEDA Ayase (LOSC Lille). The victory gave Japan a winning start to their preparations for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027, which gets under way early next year.

With MORIYASU Hajime remaining in charge through the Asian Cup, several of Japan’s new additions made an immediate impact in the team’s first match since this summer’s FIFA World Cup. The performance reflected the challenge Moriyasu had set his players: to build on what they had already achieved while continuing to grow and evolve.

Japan started with HAYAKAWA Tomoki (Kashima Antlers) in goal and a back three of SEKO Ayumu (Le Havre AC), ITAKURA Kou (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and ITO Hiroki (FC Bayern Munich), from right to left. Brothers SANO Kaishu (1.FSV Mainz 05) and SANO Kodai (PSV Eindhoven) lined up in central midfield, with Matsuki at right wing-back and NAKAMURA Keito (Olympique Lyonnais) on the left. DOAN Ritsu (Eintracht Frankfurt) and SUZUKI Yuito (SC Freiburg) played further forward behind MAEDA Daizen (Ipswich Town FC).

Uruguay appointed former international striker Diego FORLAN as interim head coach following this summer’s World Cup. Forlan, who also played for Cerezo Osaka during his career, named a starting line-up featuring World Cup squad members including Rodrigo BENTANCUR, Maximiliano ARAUJO and Federico VINAS. The visitors pressed aggressively from the outset and looked to attack quickly and directly.

Japan came under pressure early on as Brian RODRIGUEZ and Vinas both threatened from distance, but Itakura and Hayakawa kept Uruguay at bay before Japan converted their first clear opportunity.

In the 11th minute, Nakamura exchanged passes with Sano Kodai following a throw-in on the left before switching play to the opposite flank. Matsuki collected the ball, drove forward and cut inside before finding the net with his left foot to give Japan the lead.

Japan continued to press high and switch the play from side to side, with Matsuki on the right and Nakamura on the left looking to take on their opponents. Nakamura twice drove into the penalty area, in the 27th and 33rd minutes, but was unable to find the target under pressure from the Uruguay defence.

Uruguay had also been looking to win the ball high up the pitch, and that pressure eventually produced an equaliser just before half-time.

Bentancur intercepted Hayakawa’s pass intended for Sano Kaishu during Japan’s build-up and quickly played the ball forward to Vinas. Hayakawa stopped Vinas’ shot with his foot, but Maximiliano Araujo reacted to the rebound and scored from a tight angle to make it 1-1.

Japan introduced KAMADA Daichi (Crystal Palace FC) for Sano Kodai at the start of the second half. Shortly after the hour mark, SUZUKI Junnosuke (FC Copenhagen), ITO Junya (KRC Genk), Ueda and KUBO Takefusa (Real Sociedad) entered the match, followed by TANAKA Ao (Leeds United FC) and SOMA Yuki (FC Machida Zelvia) after the 75-minute mark. The changes helped Japan find greater fluency in attack and spend more time on the front foot.

In the 80th minute, Kubo exchanged passes with Ueda before sending a cross from the right side of the penalty area towards Nakamura at the far post, but the ball narrowly evaded him.

Uruguay also used their substitutions to good effect and continued to target the space behind Japan’s defensive line. Nahitan NANDEZ, Darwin NUNEZ and Rodrigo ZALAZAR all threatened the Japan goal, but Hayakawa responded sharply to deny them.

At the other end, Ueda ran onto Kubo’s through ball in the 86th minute and fired with his right foot from inside the penalty area, only to send his effort narrowly wide.

Japan finally regained the lead one minute into second-half added time. Shioagai, who had come on late in the match, laid off Ito’s pass to Ueda and continued his run into the penalty area. Ueda returned the ball to him on the left, and Shioagai finished with his right foot into the bottom-right corner for his first international goal in his fourth appearance.

Five minutes later, Ueda put the result beyond doubt. Ito played the ball into space on the right side of the penalty area, where Ueda met it and fired home with his right foot to complete Japan’s 3-1 victory.

The result improved Japan’s all-time record against Uruguay to three wins, three draws and four defeats, and gave the team a winning start to a new phase under Moriyasu, who remains in charge through the Asian Cup.

SAMURAI BLUE will next face Venezuela in their second KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2026 match at Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima on Monday 28 September. They will then play Ecuador at International Stadium Yokohama in Kanagawa on Thursday 1 October in the KIRIN CUP SOCCER 2026, followed by a meeting with either Panama or New Zealand at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo on Monday 5 October.

Coach and Players' Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Head Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
We went into this match seeing it as a new start. I told the players that while we need to value everything we’ve built so far, we also need to think about where we want to go from here. I wanted both the players and the team as a whole to go for the win, keep pushing themselves to improve and show our fans and supporters that determination through the way we played. Uruguay are a very strong side, as we expected, and there were periods when the game didn’t go the way we wanted. Even so, we kept trying to win the ball aggressively from the front. When we had possession, the players looked to go towards goal whenever possible, while also recognising when we needed to keep the ball. I thought they showed a real willingness to take on both of those challenges.

We used all eight substitutions, and when you make that many changes there is always a risk of losing some tactical cohesion. But the players who came on connected well with the rest of the team, and we continued to function as a unit as we pushed for the win. In the end, our defensive work also led directly to the goals that won us the match. I want the players to keep building on what we’ve been working on while continuing to push themselves to improve. It’s not just the players who have regularly been involved with the national team. Young players like Matsuki and Sano Kodai, as well as Suzuki Yuito and Shioagai, who didn’t get many opportunities at the World Cup, are showing real hunger and pushing the level of the team higher. The players are pushing and motivating each other, and I think we saw today how that can help the players, the national team and Japanese football as a whole continue to grow. It had been some time since our last camp and there were changes to the squad, so there were naturally some areas we need to work on. But given what we were asking of the players, I thought they responded very well overall.

Despite it being a weekday just after a public holiday, so many people came to the stadium, filled the stands with blue and fought alongside us. I think that support helped the players keep battling until the very end. It has been 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and I hope our performance was able to provide some encouragement to those who are still working towards recovery. The players came together determined to give their best with those people in their thoughts, and I hope that feeling reached everyone watching.

GK #23 HAYAKAWA Tomoki (Kashima Antlers)
Their forwards pressed us differently from what I’m used to, and they were physically quite big, so there were times when I was a little cautious. For the goal we conceded, I thought the ball was going to be played back across goal towards the far side, so I wasn’t expecting the shot to come from that angle. That’s something I need to learn from and be better prepared for in the future. There was also the pass that they intercepted in our build-up. My idea was to play it into space so we could move the ball on to the centre-back with one touch, but Sano Kaishu had an opponent on his back. Looking back, I could have played a different type of pass. I need to improve my decision-making in those situations.

MF/FW #18 UEDA Ayase (LOSC Lille/France)
Ito and I had talked about that kind of play before I came on, so I’m glad it led to a goal. We knew it would be a tough match against a strong South American side, but I thought we played aggressively and did a lot of good things as a team from the start. We still have three more matches in Japan during this series. We want to make sure we win those games and then each of us can take that into what comes next.

MF/FW #19 MATSUKI Kuryu (Southampton FC/England)
For the goal, there was space on the opposite side and Keito found me with a good ball. It’s something I work on a lot at Southampton, so I’m glad I was able to finish it. We can’t be satisfied just because we won today. We still have three matches left, and I want us to keep pushing ourselves and improving as a team.

MF/FW #26 SHIOGAI Kento (VfL Wolfsburg/Germany)
I’d been going through a spell without scoring, so I’m really pleased that I was able to make the most of this opportunity. Even though I only had a short time on the pitch, I was able to score and help the team win. To be honest, I don’t remember much about the goal itself. Things hadn’t been going my way recently, so it feels good to have finally scored. I don’t want to stop here. I want to keep this going and score plenty more goals.

MF/FW #28 SANO Kodai (PSV Eindhoven/Netherlands)
I went into the match focused on doing my job while sticking to our shape and the team’s tactical plan. In the first half, the distances between us in midfield were good, and because we had players staying wide, we were able to switch the play out to them. Everyone was in the right positions, which allowed us to combine with one-touch passes and play our way forward from the back. Having players providing width made things easier for me in central midfield. We also had players like Doan, Nakamura and Suzuki Yuito who can play their way through tight spaces, so that made things easier for me in that role.

Diego FORLAN, Head Coach of Uruguay National Team
We knew it would be a difficult match. Japan place a lot of emphasis on combinations between their players, and you could see how well established their style of play is under Coach Moriyasu, who has been in charge for a long time. That made it a very difficult game for us. We tried to get in behind Japan’s defence using both short and long passes, and I thought we managed the game well for around 80 minutes. We created a number of chances in both halves, so it was very disappointing to concede those goals late in the game. But the way a match is played isn’t always reflected in the final result. I’m grateful to the players for how hard they worked.

Fixture: SAMURAI BLUE vs Uruguay National Team
Date: Thu. 24 September, 19:05
Venue: Q&A Stadium Miyagi, Miyagi
Match information