HONG KONG — Luis Suarez became the first player to score 50 goals for Uruguay on Friday when the Barcelona striker scored a penalty to set up a China Cup final meeting with Wales following a 2-0 win over Czech Republic.

Suarez smashed the ball high into the net from the penalty spot in the 10th minute after being brought down in the area by Czech goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka. Edinson Cavani sealed the win eight minutes before halftime with a spectacular overhead kick.

"The Welsh team have made remarkable progress in recent years and they have internationally renowned players," said Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez. "But this is an opportunity for us and the final won't be an easy game. It will be a difficult test for us."

Wales reached the final with a 6-0 thrashing of hosts China on Thursday, with Gareth Bale scoring a hat rick to become his nation's all-time leading goal scorer.

Uruguay are using the tournament as preparation for this year's World Cup finals, where the South Americans have been drawn to face hosts Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Japan draw with Mali in World Cup warmup

In Liege, Belgium. Japan’s Shoya Nakajima equalized five minutes into stoppage time with the last kick of the match to secure a 1-1 draw against Mali in a World Cup warmup friendly on Friday.

Nakajima was unmarked at the back post to finish, as Japan were rewarded for their relentless attacking after falling behind just before the interval.

Abdoulay Diaby, who is the top scorer for Belgian league leaders Club Bruges, netted a penalty in the 43rd minute to give Mali the halftime lead in front of a largely empty stadium at the home of Standard Liege.

The match, which Japan hoped would give them an indication of the style of play they can expect from Mali’s neighbors Senegal at the World Cup, kicked off at lunch time in Belgium to accommodate Japanese television.

Japan will continue their World Cup preparations at the same venue against Ukraine on Tuesday. Japan play in Group H at the World Cup and face Senegal in Ekaterinburg on June 24. They play Poland and Colombia in their other two group fixtures.

UEFA to pay solidarity and bonus fees to teams

The inaugural UEFA Nations League will pay up to 76.25 million euros ($94 million) in solidarity and bonus fees to the 55 teams participating in the competition, European Soccer's governing body said on Friday.

The 12 strongest teams based on UEFA rankings — divided into four groups of three in League A — will each receive 1.5 million euros in solidarity fees while each group winner will be given an additional 1.5 million euros as a bonus.

The four group winners from League A will then compete for the UEFA Nations League trophy next June and stand to gain a further 4.5 million if they win the title — taking the maximum amount they can earn to 7.5 million euros, UEFA added.

League B teams can earn a maximum of 2 million euros while League C teams can pocket a maximum of 1.5 million euros. League D teams, the lowest tier of the competition, can earn a maximum of 1 million euros in solidarity and bonus fees.

The four-tier tournament that UEFA has introduced to replace international friendlies will run alongside the traditional European championship qualifiers. Group matches in all four divisions will be played between September and November this year. — Reuters