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The FIFA Under-17 World Cup Group Stage continued on Wednesday with Japan losing 2-1 to France in their second match. The Europeans seized the initiative early on, with Amine Gouiri scoring the opening goal in the 13th minute after cutting through Japan’s defensive line.  Japan hunted for an equaliser with Takefusa Kubo leading the charge, …

Japan needed a last-gasp goal from Shinji Kagawa to escape defeat against Haiti and scrape a 3-3 draw in their final game of the Kirin Challenge Cup on Tuesday. The Samurai Blue had roared into a two-goal lead via Shu Kurata and Kenyu Sugimoto before 20 minutes, but almost fatally took their foot off the gas at Nissan Stadium. Sensing weakness, Haiti …

Japan’s FIFA U-17 World Cup campaign got off to a nearly-flawless start early on Monday morning with a 6-1 win against Honduras. Mitsubishi Yowa SC striker Keito Nakamura netted a hat-trick by the 43rd minute, with 16-year-old FC Tokyo phenomenon Takefusa Kubo making the score 4-1 by half-time. Japan continued to press in Guwahati, with Kawasaki…

Cerezo Osaka and Kawasaki Frontale will contest the 2017 J.League YBC Levain Cup final after winning their respective semi-finals on Sunday courtesy of last-gasp goals. In the Osaka derby, newly-promoted Cerezo triumphed 2-1 at Gamba, the 4-3 aggregate win over their local rivals sealed by a bullet header in the 95th minute from Yasuki Kimoto, who added …

Shonan Bellmare took yet another big step towards their anticipated return to the top flight on Saturday night in MEIJI YASUDA J2 League action.   The BMW Stadium residents struggled in the first half against Mito Hollyhock, but found their pace in the second half with goals by Ryunosuke Noda and and Ryo Takahashi in addition to a Hollyhock own g…

Japan kicked off their Kirin Challenge Cup campaign with a win against New Zealand, with Yuya Osako and Shu Kurata securing a 2-1 win on Friday. After a first half without goals, FC Koln star Osako netted the Samurai Blue’s first from the penalty spot - an opener that was cancelled out by Chris Wood’s strike before the hour mark. It then f…

The first leg of the 2017 J.League YBC Levain Cup semi-finals took place on Wednesday evening, with all four teams still in contention for the early November final at Saitama Stadium. A wild back-and-forth at Yanmar Stadium Nagai concluded in a 2-2 Osaka Derby draw between Cerezo Osaka and Gamba Osaka. 2015 Levin Cup New Hero Award winner Shuhei Akasa…

Another wild MEIJI YASUDA J2 League weekend saw several positions shift in the races for automatic promotion and a spot in the J1 Promotion Playoff. With Shonan Bellmare hanging onto first place following their 4-2 win over Zweigen Kanazawa, Avispa Fukuoka returned to second place after Koji Yamase and Riki Matsuda scored early in the team’s 2-1 vi…

Shinzo Koroki’s brace enabled Urawa Reds to battle to a 3-2 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League victory at Vegalta Sendai  The Japan international struck before the half-hour mark, a goal that was cancelled out by Hirotaka Mita, before notching again after 60 minutes. Rafael Silva then fired in the Reds’ third even if Crislan’s consolation c…

Kashima Antlers’ 1-0 loss at Sagan Tosu blew the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League title race wide open, with Kawasaki Frontale closing in the table. Akito Fukuta’s 80th-minute winner against league leaders and Japanese champions Antlers allowed Frontale to close within five points of the top of the table. The contenders put five past former challeng…

The Japan Football Association on Thursday announced the Samurai Blue’s squad of 24 players for their upcoming Kirin Challenge Cup matches against New Zealand and Haiti. 11 J.League players were selected for the pair of international friendlies, including Kashiwa Reysol goalkeeper Kosuke Nakamura and Urawa Reds midfielder Wataru Endo.  Kawa…

The first leg of the 2017 AFC Champions League East semi-final took place on Wednesday night, with Urawa Reds drawing 1-1 at Shanghai SIPG. Urawa struggled against Shanghai’s powerful attacking squad of Hulk, Oscar and Elkeson from the start. Indeed, it was former Tokyo Verdy player Hulk who netted the opener in the 15th minute with a powerful free…

Yokohama F. Marinos attacker Manabu Saito will require eight months to recover after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament, the club announced on Tuesday. The 27-year-old ruptured his knee during F. Marinos’ 3-2 loss at Ventforet Kofu on Saturday in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League Round 27. The diagnosis means that Saito, who represented Japan…

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin was named the ASEAN Football Federation’s (AFF) Men’s Player of the Year on Saturday night at the AFF Awards 2017 federation’s annual gala. The Thai star led his country’s national team to their fourth AFF Suzuki Cup title last December and was named MVP of the tournament.…

The 34th round of the 2017 MEIJI YASUDA J2 League took place this weekend as promotion-hopeful teams continued to jockey for position in the final stretch of the campaign. On Saturday, leaders Shonan Bellmare maintained their unbeaten streak with a 0-0 draw at Kyoto Sanga. Facing JEF United Chiba at home and with the game tied up at 1-1, V-Varen Nagas…

Kashima Antlers took giants steps towards defending their MEIJI YASUDA J1 League title by beating Gamba Osaka 2-1 on Saturday while Kawasaki Frontale and Cerezo Osaka faltered. Despite falling behind to Hwang Ui-jo’s seventh-minute opener, Go Oiwa’s Antlers thoroughly dominated Gamba and deservedly equalised in first-half stoppage time throug…

The Japan Football Association on Friday announced the country’s squad for the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which will take place from October 6 through October 28 in India. Included are FC Tokyo U-18 striker Takefusa Kubo and midfielder Rei Hirakawa, both of whom have played an active role in the J3 League with the club’s U-23 side. …

The Emperor’s Cup Round of 16 took place on Wednesday night, and there were no upsets to be found as eight J1 League sides advanced to the October 25 quarter-finals. Wataru Hashimoto and Kazuma Watanabe scored for Vissel Kobe in their 2-0 win at Matsumoto Yamaga, while Takaki Fukumitsu’s sixth-minute goal was enough to give Cerezo Osaka a 1-0…

The MEIJI YASUDA J2 League Round 33 match between Roasso Kumamoto and Avispa Fukuoka ended 1-1 on Monday after it was postponed by the typhoon. Won Du-Jae put the visitors into the lead at Egao Kenko Stadium in the 69th minute, but Roasso responded just four minutes later when Shintaro Shimada equalised from the penalty spot. The match finished in the…

The 33rd round of the MEIJI YASUDA J2 League took place this weekend, with nine out of 11 matches taking place as scheduled. Leaders Shonan Bellmare managed a narrow 1-0 win over Kamatamare Sanuki, successfully defending Andre Bahia's goal to go undefeated in their ninth straight match and climb to 70 points. After Yusuke Goto put Oita Trinita up …