Diego Forlán’s first match in charge of Uruguay was a reminder that a game can be balanced for 90 minutes and still be decided in a burst of late chaos. For long stretches, this Japan Vs Uruguay friendly looked level at 1-1. Then Japan found two goals after the 90th minute and turned a workable result for Uruguay into a 3-1 defeat in Miyagi.
Japan struck first through Kuryu Matsuki in the 11th minute, giving the hosts an early edge and a platform to shape the match. Uruguay responded before the break when Maximiliano Araújo equalized in the 42nd minute, and that scoreline held all the way to the 90th minute. At that point, the contest was still alive and even, which is what made the finish so harsh for Forlán’s side.
A match decided in the final moments
The decisive stretch came after Uruguay had already done the hard work of getting back into the game. Kento Shiogai scored for Japan in the 92nd minute, and four minutes later Ayase Ueda added a third. That sequence changed the match from a draw into a two-goal loss in less than a flash, and it underlined how thin the margin was between a respectable debut and an ugly final scoreline.
Forlán will take little comfort from the result itself, but the structure of the match matters. Uruguay were still level deep into the second half, which suggests they remained competitive for most of the night. The concern is obvious, though: when the match opened up late, Japan were the team that handled the decisive moments better.
That is the first lesson of Forlán’s era, even if it is only one friendly. Uruguay’s opening game under their new coach did not collapse from the start; it slipped away at the end. And in international football, especially on a tour, the ability to survive those final minutes often tells you as much as the first 89.
Uruguay now move on to the next stop on the trip, with South Korea scheduled for Monday 28 at 8 in the stadium mundialista of Seúl, before the tour closes against India on Tuesday 6 October at 10:30 in the VYBK of Calcuta.
