Surez comes to Uruguay's World Cup quarter-final against France on Friday an all-together wiser and maturer
'Les Bleus' will be inspired by the two-decade anniversary of their only World Cup win in 1998, while double winners Uruguay's modern generation are desperate to recreate the black-and-white-era glories of their 1930 and 1950 trophies.
But despite some early close attempts from Uruguay, Japan began to impose themselves on the game and Koji Miyoshi gave them the lead in the 25th minute with a confident finish following a counterattack.
Another Indian, Yuki Bhambri and his Dutch partner Robin Haase also progressed to the quarter-finals.
Goalkeeping howlers have been scarce at the World Cup but Fernando Muslera's mistake proved fatal for Uruguay in their 2-0 quarter-final defeat by France on Friday just as much as a brilliant stop from Hugo Lloris kept his side ahead.
Cavani, 31, scored two goals in the Round of 16 win over Portugal, then limped off with a calf injury and has been fighting to get fit in time for the showdown in Nizhny Novgorod.
Uruguay will seek to summon up all their famous defensive spirit in Friday's quarter-final against France to shackle the Europeans' lighting-fast teenage top-scorer Kylian Mbappe.
Uruguay, with 3.3 million people, are into a quarter-final with Argentina's conquerors France after four straight wins including a stunning 2-1 knockout victory over Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.
Uruguay have one of the best recent records of all 32 World Cup sides, having won all six of their games this year, conceding precisely zero goals.
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez is set to play his first competitive international later this month since being banned for biting an opponent at the 2014 World Cup after he was called up on Friday for qualifiers against Brazil and Peru.
Uruguay's Jose Gimenez scored with a thunderous 89th minute header to deal Egypt a 1-0 defeat in their World Cup opener on Friday, just as the North Africans appeared to have escaped with a point despite missing key striker Mohamed Salah.
Images from the Copa America semi-final between Argentina and Canada at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
Inspired by 24-year-old playmaker Shoya Nakajima and forward Takumi Minamino, who finished the night with a brace, Japan stunned Oscar Tabarez's side, who are ranked fifth in the world.
Costa Ricans celebrated their World Cup victory over Uruguay as the greatest in their nation's soccer history and warned other teams at the tournament to take them seriously from now on.
As part of its Latin American expansion plans, IT major Tata Consultancy Services has set up another global delivery centre in Uruguay and will will house over 250 personnel.
Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani scored twice to earn the South Americans a 2-1 win over European champions Portugal in their World Cup round of 16 clash on Saturday and set up a quarter-final against France.
Luis Suarez marked his 100th international cap by sending Uruguay into the last 16 of the World Cup as the striker benefited from some poor goalkeeping to eliminate Saudi Arabia with a 1-0 win.
Neymar injured as Brazil lose 2-0 in Uruguay
Images from the Copa America Group D matches between Brazil-Colombia and Paraguay-Costa Rica.
Uruguay's Luis Suarez said his conscience was clear after being dismissed for a handball that denied Ghana a last-gasp winner in their World Cup quarter-final on Friday.
Uruguay crushed Ecuador 4-0 in their Copa America opener on Sunday with help from an early sending off that deflated their opponents and assured the 15-times champions the simplest of starts to their campaign.
Lionel Messi guided Argentina past a tough Uruguay side in the final half hour with two brilliant goals for a 3-0 win on Friday that keeps them top of South America's World Cup qualifiers.
Close to half of women soccer fans in England and Wales have personally experienced sexist or misogynistic abuse at matches but most have never reported it to authorities, a new study by anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out revealed on Wednesday.
An 87th-minute equaliser by Ronaldo helped Brazil salvage a 3-3 draw at home to Uruguay.
Ecuador secured a place in the Copa America quarter-finals on Sunday after grinding out a 0-0 draw with Mexico.
Luis Suarez scored his first Uruguay goals since the World Cup finals and his biting bran in a 3-0 friendly win over Oman on Monday.
Pragmatic, difficult to beat, spearheaded by talismanic forwards and led by veteran, battle-hardened coaches -- few teams have as much in common with each other as Uruguay and Portugal who meet in a World Cup round of 16 tie on Saturday.
Uruguay's Cristian Rodriguez scored a soft goal in the holders' laboured 1-0 win over outsiders Jamaica when they opened their defence of their Copa America title on Saturday.
Uruguay eliminated Mexico from the Copa America Tuesday to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with Argentina, while Chile finished top of Group C after a 1-0 win over Peru.
Defending Copa America champions Argentina and South American heavyweights Brazil were drawn in favourable groups for next year's edition on Thursday, while hosts the United States will come up against 15-time winners Uruguay.
Uruguay sealed their spot at the 2014 World Cup finals after a goalless draw at home to Jordan in the second leg of their intercontinental playoff on Wednesday saw them advance 5-0 on aggregate.
Uruguay's Edinson Cavani has always played second fiddle to his more illustrious attacking colleagues at country or club level but the long-haired marksman emerged out of those shadows with his twin strike in the World Cup round of 16 last week.
Carlos Bueno's 58th minute goal helped Uruguay beat Ecuador 1-0.
IMAGES from the Group A match played between Russia and Uruguay in Samara on Monday
South Africa's World Cup hopes were left in tatters by a superior Uruguay side on Wednesday, who outwitted, out muscled and outpaced the home team.
Uruguay's FA will raise a formal complaint against Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara for provoking striker Edinson Cavani by sticking his finger up his backside during the hosts' 1-0 Copa America quarter-final win.
Uruguay, the last team to qualify for the World Cup, carried the South American flag furthest at the tournament before bowing to European superiority in their 3-2 semi-final defeat by Netherlands on Tuesday.
Being South America's only survivors in the World Cup has given extra impetus to Uruguay's bid to re-live the glory of their nation's past heroes who lifted two trophies in 1930 and 1950, players said on Sunday.
Uruguay secured a place in the second round of the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990 when they beat Latin American rivals Mexico 1-0 on Tuesday.
Diego Forlan shot to the top of the World Cup scorers' chart with two goals in Uruguay's 3-0 win over South Africa on Wednesday.
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