Japan vs Venezuela: Score, Goals and VAR Controversy Explained
- 🔑 Japan beat Venezuela 2-1 in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly at EDION PEACE WING HIROSHIMA on Monday, September 28, 2026, with Ayase Ueda scoring both Japan goals — an equalizer in the 49th minute and a stoppage-time penalty in the 90+6th minute, after Venezuela’s Kevin Kelsy had opened the scoring in the 46th minute.
- A video review overturned an on-field call in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, ruling that Venezuela defender Yangel Herrera had fouled Japan’s Takefusa Kubo inside the penalty area; the reversal handed Japan the penalty that Ueda converted for the winning goal, and Venezuela’s players protested the decision heatedly.
- No red cards were shown in the match, though both Japan and Venezuela finished with three yellow cards apiece, and the official match page recorded an attendance of 27,882 at EDION PEACE WING HIROSHIMA, Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s home stadium that opened in 2024.
- The win was Japan’s second in a row this international window, following a 3-1 victory over Uruguay on Thursday, September 24, 2026; manager Hajime Moriyasu fielded a heavily rotated lineup with several fringe and uncapped players, since Japan had already secured its place at the 2026 World Cup before these friendlies were played.
- Venezuela remains without a men’s World Cup appearance after finishing eighth in CONMEBOL qualifying and losing its final match to an already-qualified Colombia, while Bolivia beat Brazil for the intercontinental playoff spot; the federation dismissed coach Fernando Batista after qualifying ended. No betting odds, spreads, or win-probability models appear anywhere in this recap.
Japan beat Venezuela 2-1 in Hiroshima on Monday, September 28, 2026, coming from behind after Ayase Ueda scored twice, including a stoppage-time penalty that a VAR review awarded. The Kirin Challenge Cup 2026 friendly at EDION PEACE WING HIROSHIMA drew an announced crowd of 27,882 and turned on a review deep into second-half stoppage time that overturned the on-field call. Here’s exactly what happened, and what it means for both teams.
Who won the Japan vs. Venezuela match, and what was the final score?
Japan won 2-1, rallying from an early second-half deficit to beat Venezuela at EDION PEACE WING HIROSHIMA on Monday, September 28, 2026. The match was a men’s international friendly under the Kirin Challenge Cup 2026 banner, not a competitive qualifier, and the official match page recorded an attendance of 27,882. It was Japan’s second straight win of the international window, following a 3-1 win over Uruguay on Thursday, September 24, 2026.
How did each goal happen?
Venezuela scored first, then Japan answered within three minutes before winning it on a penalty deep into stoppage time. Kevin Kelsy put Venezuela ahead in the 46th minute, driving a low, left-footed finish across goal after a run down the left flank opened up the chance. Japan leveled almost immediately: in the 49th minute, Ayase Ueda got ahead of Venezuela’s defense and finished first-time off an inswinging cross from the left side by Junya Ito. The score held until the 90+6th minute, when Ueda converted a penalty to make it 2-1 and settle the result.
| Min | Scorer | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 46' | Kelsy | Venezuela |
| 49' | Ueda | Japan |
| 90+6' | Ueda (pen.) | Japan |
What happened with the VAR penalty controversy?
A video review overturned the on-field call and awarded Japan a stoppage-time penalty, which Venezuela’s players protested heatedly. Play had initially continued around a foul situation near Venezuela’s box, but the review determined that Venezuela defender Yangel Herrera had fouled Japan forward Takefusa Kubo inside the penalty area, reversing the call into a penalty for Japan. Ueda stepped up and converted it to make the score 2-1 in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Venezuela’s players surrounded the referee both during the review and after the final whistle, though no red cards were shown; both teams finished with three yellow cards apiece.
What does this result mean for Japan?
It’s Japan’s second win in a row this window, played with a heavily rotated lineup after the team had already secured its place at the 2026 World Cup. Manager Hajime Moriyasu shuffled his squad for the Venezuela friendly, giving minutes to fringe and uncapped players, including forward Shuto Nakano, days after fielding a similarly reshaped lineup to beat Uruguay 3-1 on September 24, 2026. With qualification already locked up, these September friendlies function more as auditions for a place on Japan’s World Cup roster than as results carrying qualifying stakes.
What does this result mean for Venezuela?
Venezuela is still without a first-ever men’s World Cup appearance, after missing out on the 2026 tournament during South American qualifying. Venezuela finished eighth in CONMEBOL qualifying, losing its final match to an already-qualified Colombia while Bolivia beat Brazil to take the intercontinental playoff spot Venezuela had been chasing. The federation dismissed head coach Fernando Batista once that qualifying campaign ended. The September friendlies against Japan arrived, then, for a Venezuela squad already in transition under new coaching, rather than for points that carried any stakes.
Monday’s match in Hiroshima was decided in the space of a few minutes: twice right after halftime, and then again in stoppage time on a VAR call Venezuela contested loudly but couldn’t overturn. Japan leaves the window unbeaten in two matches with its World Cup roster picture a little clearer, while Venezuela heads into a new coaching cycle still chasing its first men’s World Cup appearance.
How we verified this
The final score and each goal’s minute (Kelsy 46’, Ueda 49’, Ueda penalty 90+6’) were checked against the competition’s own official match page, a US sports network’s boxscore, a UK sports broadcaster’s live commentary, and two independent soccer-news recaps — all agreeing on the 2-1 scoreline and goal sequence. One independent recap listed the penalty at the 90+3rd minute rather than 90+6th; we followed the official match page’s minute since it is the primary source.
The VAR reversal — an initial on-field call overturned into a penalty for Japan after review found Venezuela defender Yangel Herrera had fouled Takefusa Kubo in the box — was corroborated by two independent match reports describing the same review and the same players, with no dissenting account found.
Cards and attendance (three yellow cards for each team, no red cards, attendance of 27,882) were taken from the competition’s official match page, which also listed match-day statistics; this superseded a lower yellow-card figure for Japan found in earlier, preliminary research.
Context on Japan’s rotation and Venezuela’s World Cup elimination (Japan had already qualified for the 2026 World Cup before this friendly window; Venezuela finished eighth in CONMEBOL qualifying and dismissed coach Fernando Batista afterward) was checked against wire-service sports coverage and confirmed consistent across multiple independent reports.
No betting odds, spreads, or win-probability models appear anywhere on this page. A separate predictions/preview piece surfaced in research and was not used or reflected in this recap.