Brazil and Japan played out a goalless draw in the curtain raiser of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 on Tuesday afternoon.

In overcast conditions at the Estadio Domingo Burgueno Miguel in Maldonado, it was Little Nadeshiko that looked the more threatening during the opening half. Chiina Kamiya missed the target with two early efforts before Wakaba Goto was unable to test Brazil goalkeeper Mayara from close range.

The best chance of the match came at the other end before the break, as Vitoria forced Japan goalkeeper Shu Ohba to tip her fierce strike over her own crossbar.

Japan controlled proceedings after the restart, but were unable to turn their dominance into a result. Mayara was on hand to make routine saves when needed for Brazil, while Momoka Kinoshita, Tamaki Okuma and substitute Yuzuki Yamamoto all had efforts miss the target.

It meant both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils to open their accounts in Group B.