News

Extra-time heroics by Tadanari Lee were not enough to prevent Urawa Reds from being the fourth and final Japanese club to be eliminated from this year’s AFC Champions League after a crushing loss to FC Seoul in penalty kicks. The 2007 ACL champions came to Seoul World Cup Stadium boasting a 1-0 lead from the first leg, but allowed a Dejan Damjanovi…

The penultimate round of the 2016 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Group Stage took place on Wednesday night, with Group B wide open heading into the final match day on June 5. Vissel Kobe’s 4-0 win over already-eliminated Nagoya Grampus sent them to first place in Group A with 13 points, assuring them of passage to the Knockout Stages along with Omiy…

Sanfrecce Hiroshima midfielder Koji Morisaki will mis six weeks of play due to an injury to his right calf, the club announced on Tuesday. The 35-year-old veteran, who has yet to earn minutes in the league this season, suffered the injury in a training match last week. The announcement means that Morisaki is expected to miss the remainder of the MEIJI…

The Japan Under-23s’ difficult Toulon Tournament continued on Monday (local time) with a 1-0 loss to Portugal U-20. A much-changed lineup from the team’s opening loss saw Kashiwa Reysol goalkeeper Kosuke Nakamura, Shimizu S-Pulse defender Genta Miura, and Gamba Osaka midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi amongst others feature from the start. But the…

FC Tokyo were eliminated from the 2016 AFC Champions League following a devastating 1-0 loss at Shanghai SIPG on Tuesday night. After last week’s 2-1 first leg win in Tokyo, Hiroshi Jofuku’s men needed just a draw to advance to their first-ever ACL quarterfinals. But despite 90 minutes of spirited defending, including several big saves by …

Sagan Tosu midfielder Kim Min-woo will miss three weeks due to injury, the club announced on Monday. The 26-year-old South Korea international suffered ligament damage to his right knee. Kim, who has played for Sagan since 2010, has one goal in 12 appearances this season.

Cerezo Osaka midfielder Daichi Akiyama is on the mend after receiving surgery for cartilage damage in his right knee. The 21-year-old is expected to require six weeks to recover. Akiyama has yet to appear in this season’s MEIJI YASUDA J2 League, but has played seven times for Cerezo’s Under-23 team in the J3 League.

Jubilo Iwata midfielder Daigo Araki has received surgery for injuries to his right knee, the club announced on Monday. The 22-year-old, who has two Nabisco Cup appearances in his first season with the senior side, suffered damage to his patellar ligament as well as cartilage in the knee. Araki is expected to return to training in four weeks.

The 14th round of the 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J2 League ended as it began, with Consadole Sapporo on top of the table following a 1-0 win at Kamatamare Sanuki. Yoshihiro Uchimura scored shortly before halftime, giving the team their fifth 1-0 win in a row with their last three victories all coming on the road. Fagiano Okayama rose to second place with a com…

Kashiwa Reysol midfielder Hidekazu Otani could potentially miss the remainder of the 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League’s first stage after hurting his left knee. The injury was sustained in Reysol’s midweek Nabisco Cup match against Albirex Niigata. Otani, who has one goal in 11 appearances this season, is estimated to require six weeks to recov…

The Japan Under-23 national team lost 2-1 to the Paraguay U-21s in the opening match of the Toulon Tournament. The opening goal was scored in the 18th minute by Pedro Baez in the 18th minute after capitalising on an error by defender Sai van Wermeskerken. Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker Takuma Asano levelled the match at 1-1 midway through the first half,…

Japanese champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s torrid 2016 continued on Saturday as they were humbled 3-1 in front of their own fans by Gamba Osaka in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League. Hajime Moriyasu’s men remain in eighth place with their title defence further derailed as previous champions Gamba roared into a three-goal lead. Ademilson opened the s…

Nagoya Grampus on Wednesday announced that defender Ryo Takahashi and midfielder Ryuji Izumi have both been signed to ‘Pro A’ contracts with the club. The two players both reached the minimum playing time requirements for ‘A’ contracts this month. “I can’t be satisfied with how I’m currently playing and want t…

Omiya Ardija defender Kosuke Kikuchi will miss the next four weeks due to a right hamstring injury, the club announced on Thursday. The 30-year-old was taken out of his team’s 1-0 win at Vegalta Sendai last week in the 54th minute. Kikuchi has 11 starts for fourth-placed Ardija this season.

Jubilo Iwata on Wednesday announced the signing of defender Avraam Papadopoulos. The 31-year-old, who most recently played or China’s Shanghai Shenhua, earned 37 caps for Greece’s national team and featured in the 2010 FIFA World Cup as well as Euro 2012. Papadopoulos, who holds an Australian passport by birth, was signed as Jubilo’s…

The fifth match day of the J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Group Stage took place on Wednesday night as teams continued to struggle for position in their respective groups. Omiya Ardija remained on top of Group A following their 1-0 win over Jubilo Iwata, while defending champions Kashima Antlers are now out of the tournament after a 3-2 loss to plucky Sho…

Urawa Reds took a big step toward a return to the AFC Champions League quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over FC Seoul in the first leg of the Round of 16 on Wednesday night at Saitama Stadium. The only goal of the match came in the 14th minute when Tomoya Ugajin’s volleyed cross landed in the upper corner of the net for a spectacular goal. The Reds…

Ventforet Kofu have announced injuries to three midfielders who will require significant time in order to recover. Ryohei Arai will miss three months following surgery earlier this week to repair a tear in his right meniscus. Masato Kurogi will sit out a month after injuring his left knee, while Kazunari Hosaka will need six weeks for internal and ext…

FC Tokyo took a 2-1 lead over Shanghai SIPG in the first leg of the 2016 AFC Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday night at Tokyo Stadium. The hero of the match was Kota Mizunuma, whose free kick just before halftime made its way through the Shanghai wall and into the net to take the lead. Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men equalised 10 minutes into th…

Jubilo Iwata on Tuesday announced the registration of two academy players to the top squad as Type II players. The two players are defenders Riku Morioka and midfielder Hiroki Ito, both of whom have represented Japan at multiple under-age levels.