Japan and 10-man Greece kept chances of progressing from Group C alive, following last night’s goalless draw.
Greece captain Konstantinos Katsouranis was sent off for two bookable offences before the break in Natal.
The Greeks went close with a second-half header from Theofanis Gekas, which was saved by Eiji Kawashima.
Yoshito Okubo missed from just a couple of yards and Atsuto Uchida also prodded wide from a good position as Japan were left frustrated.
The draw was the third of the ongoing tournament and it leaves both teams on one point heading into the final round of group matches.
Japan face Colombia, who have already qualified with six points, and a win could still take them above Ivory Coast, whose current tally is three points.
Former European champions, Greece, must defeat the Ivorians and hope that Japan’s result gives them a chance to finish in second place.
“My players were brilliant, They worked hard after the red card. Without the red card we probably would have won the game,” Greece coach Fernando Santos said.
“We played too slowly. This is not a positive result. We absolutely needed to win,” Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said.
