All three MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE sides confirmed their progression to the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 knockout stage on Tuesday, as Vissel Kobe, FC Machida Zelvia, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima each won to ensure they sit first, second, and third in the table with one game to play.
Kobe’s victory over FC Seoul came courtesy of two quick-fire second-half goals from Yoshinori Muto and Gotoku Sakai, moving them onto 16 points at the summit.
Muto gave Kobe the lead with a superb strike in the 69th minute at Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium, carrying the ball forward from deep inside his own half and then thundering an effort in off the far post from just inside the Seoul penalty area.
Sakai doubled the hosts’ lead four minutes later, sweeping into the net from almost the same patch of grass after Yosuke Ideguchi had laid the ball into his path.
Meanwhile, a Yuki Soma brace sealed all three points for FC Machida away to Shanghai Shenhua F.C., leaving them two points behind Kobe and safely into the next round.
Soma got his side up and running from the penalty spot in the third minute at Shanghai Stadium, making no mistake from 12 yards after Shota Fujio had been fouled.
The 28-year-old was then on hand to wrap up the points for FC Machida two minutes from time, seizing upon a loose ball inside the Shanghai box and slamming home from close range.
Hiroshima joined FC Machida on 14 points, coming from behind to beat Johor Darul Ta’zim 2-1 thanks to two goals from Akito Suzuki.
Visitors JDT burst out of the traps at Hiroshima Soccer Stadium and opened the scoring in just the third minute, when Marcos Guilherme capitalised upon an under-hit back-pass by Taichi Yamasaki and stroked beyond Keisuke Osako in the Hiroshima goal.
Hiroshima didn’t panic and soon found a way back into the contest though, drawing level a quarter of an hour later when Suzuki calmly converted a penalty.
Suzuki then completed the turnaround in the second minute of the second half, glancing in a fizzing free-kick from Naoki Maeda to guarantee his side will also be in the Round of 16.
