Japan vs Uruguay prediction: WORLD: Friendly International betting tips on match 2023-03-23 10:30.
Japan will finally make their homecoming at the New National Stadium in Tokyo after a successful World Cup showing by their own standards. Having defeated both Germany and Spain en route to a Round of 16 exit, manager Hajime Moriyasu earned the confidence of the Japanese FA and secured himself a contract extension until the end of the 2026 World Cup.
Preparations for the next tournament begin right now as the Samurai Blue play host to South America’s Uruguay, a side that painfully crashed out of the World Cup in the group stage. Despite boasting a stronger World Cup performance than their visitors, Japan’s poor record across their last four friendly internationals doesn’t inspire confidence ahead of this clash against a top nation (W1, D1, L2).
What could boost the hopes of Moriyasu’s men will be the omission of two of Uruguay’s top talents from this squad, with Barcelona’s Ronald AraĂşjo and Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez withdrawing through injuries before the break. That’s not to mention the fact that legendary Uruguayans Luis Suárez, Diego GodĂn and Edinson Cavani have been left out by interim boss Marcelo Broli, so it remains to be seen how this experimental selection will fare.
Broli said in the build up that he is using these games to “provide information for the next coach”, an interesting tactic which could prove fruitful if the contingent of uncapped players can grab the opportunity. The new boys have some high standards to live up to even in this sphere as La Celeste have conceded just once across their last five friendly games, leading at the interval in all three wins (W3, D1, L1).
Players to watch: Ritsu DĹŤan signed off for the international break in style by scoring in back-to-back Bundesliga games for Freiburg, whilst he also scored in the last Japan-held H2H. Looking to outdo him will be Penarol and Uruguay’s MatĂas Arezo, one of the new faces looking to light up the senior international stage for the first time after hitting ten goals across his last seven club games, including two hat-tricks!
Hot stat: All but one of the eight historical H2H clashes saw both teams score and at least four goals in total (JAP: W2, D2, L4).