Ueda Brace Seals Japan's 2-1 Comeback Over Venezuela

The win validated Hajime Moriyasu's decision to heavily rotate the team by showing squad depth through a late, review-awarded penalty converted under difficult conditions.

Overview

Japan overcame a 1-0 deficit to beat Venezuela 2-1 at Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima on Monday with Ayase Ueda scoring twice.
Venezuela took the lead when Kevin Kelsy finished in the 46th minute before Ueda equalised three minutes later from a Junya Ito cross.
Japan finished effectively with 10 players after Tsuyoshi Watanabe was injured late and, following a referee review, were awarded a stoppage-time penalty that Ueda converted for the winner.
Manager Hajime Moriyasu made 10 changes from the Uruguay game to hand debuts to Leo Brian Kokubo, Shuto Nakano, Koki Kumasaka and Shunsuke Saito, though Kumasaka was stretchered off eight minutes into the match with a recurrence of knee trouble.
The victory extended Japan's A-match winning run to two games and underlined the value of the international window for testing player depth in tough conditions including heavy rain and a decisive VAR review.