This has all of the makings of an entertaining contest, with both teams looking to the future. There is not an awful lot between the two sides in terms of quality, though, so we are expecting a tight match, which ultimately could end with a share of the spoils.
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Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Japan win with a probability of 39.45%. A win for Uruguay had a probability of 31.36% and a draw had a probability of 29.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Japan win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.81%) and 2-0 (7.74%). The likeliest Uruguay win was 0-1 (11.43%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.36%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
-0.13) 
0.19) 
