Japan suffered a 2-0 defeat against Mexico in a friendly in Austria on Tuesday, failing to capitalize on a dominant first-half showing in its last match of 2020.
Raul Jimenez and Hirving Lozano scored a goal apiece in the second half after El Tri goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa kept Mexico in the match in the first period at Liebenauer Stadium in Graz.
The Samurai Blue controlled the ball for most of the first 45 minutes but Ochoa tipped a long-range effort from Genki Haraguchi over the crossbar before denying Musashi Suzuki in a one-on-one and then stopping Junya Ito's sharp follow-up.