NEWS

Japan will meet Uruguay in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly match at the Sapporo Dome on August 20 as part of their preparations for the final round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, it was announced Friday.

The match will kick off at 7:10 p.m.

"This will be our first and last match before we start the final round of World Cup qualifiers, and it's going to be very important to check our team's readiness," Japan coach Takeshi Okada said. "I hope Uruguay will come with a strong squad to play us."

Japan's first match in the final round of World Cup qualifiers will be away to Bahrain on September 6.

Okada had asked for the chance to play a team with a solid defense and strong counter-attacking skills ahead of their qualifying matches.

Japan have a 1-1-1 record against Uruguay, including a 2-2 draw in a friendly in March 2003, their last meeting.

In the on-going South American World Cup qualifiers, Uruguay are currently sixth out of 10 countries with a 2-2-2 win-draw-loss record, one point behind fifth-place Brazil and two behind fourth-place Chile. The top four finishers in the South American group will earn places in the finals in South Africa and the fifth-finishers will move on to a two-leg playoff with the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF qualifiers.

"I hope we can find some positives in the Uruguay game to move on to the qualifiers," Okada noted.