Liverpool striker Luis Suarez scored with a rocket and provided the ammunition for two quick-fire Diego Forlan goals as Uruguay overpowered Japan 4-2 away in a pulsating friendly match.
A bundle of energy, Suarez wriggled clear down the left before squaring unselfishly for strike partner Forlan to slide home the opener in the 27th minute at Miyagi Stadium. Moments later Forlan doubled Uruguay's lead, curling home a free-kick from the edge of the box after Suarez had gone to ground following a robust challenge from Maya Yoshida.
Suarez proved a constant menace and scored a deserved goal in the 52nd minute with a venomous strike. Manchester United's Shinji Kagawa pulled one back for the hosts from close range two minutes later, only for Alvaro Gonzalez to head Uruguay's fourth in the 58th minute as the floodgates threatened to open.
Keisuke Honda fizzed home a superb free-kick in the 72nd minute but Japan had already left themselves too much to do.
"You have to give credit to Uruguay," Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni told reporters. "They are one of the best teams in the world. They showed that again by reaching the Confederations Cup semi-finals this year."
Japan lost all three of their games at the FIFA Confederations Cup in June and a dejected Kagawa said: "We haven't learned our lessons from then. There is still a lot to work on before the World Cup."
Source: FIFA.
