Japan News

NAGOYA : Two-time champions Al Ittihad moved within a match of regaining their AFC Champions League title yesterday when they defeated Japan's Nagoya Grampus 2-1 in the semi-finals. The Saudi giants, who won the tournament in 2004 and 2005, built on their emphatic 6-2 first-leg victory for an 8-3 aggregate win with Saleh Al-Saqri and Amine Chermiti ...

Shimizu S-Pulse missed the chance to climb to the top of the J.League as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Oita Trinita .

East meets west at the semi-final stage of the Asian Champions League with teams from the opposite ends of the continent fighting it out to make the final which will be held in Tokyo on November 7. The first leg of the penultimate round takes place tonight as Nagoya Grampus of Japan take on Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad, the first ever meeting between ...

The Socceroos will head to next year's World Cup boasting an attacking weapon more potent than many of world's top strikers in midfielder Tim Cahill.

South Korea's Pohang Steelers are determined to make the most of home advantage in their AFC Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, as are Saudi giants Al Ittihad who host Japan's Nagoya Grampus.

Europeans and South Americans will wage proxy football battles in the Asian Champions League semifinals.

Scott Brown, the Celtic and Scotland midfielder, has been struggling with an ankle injury.

The pre-match teams announcement said a lot about the profile of the Scotland squad that had gathered for the friendly match against Japan.

Japan is riding a wave of nationalistic euphoria over their swashbuckling, not to mention South Africa-bound, soccer team.

RARELY can a 5-0 bashing of a former World Cup qualifier have left such a bitter taste after Japan's evisceration of a thread-bare Togo in the Kirin Cup.

Shinji Okazaki grabbed his second international hat trick in the space of a week as Japan put Togo to the sword with a 5-0 win on Wednesday.

By this time next year, Japan will be one of the four best teams in the world. That's the aim anyway, according to their ambitious coach, Takeshi Okada.

While Takayuki Morimoto may not have been able to offer the Nissan Stadium crowd of 61,285 his first goal in national team colors, he may have offered something more: a potential solution to Japan's woes up front.

Click here to follow us on Twitter! Click here for our special Transfer Centre! Click here for more football headlines! Defender Christophe Berra believes Scotland must put their World Cup disappointment behind them and begin building for the future.

An own goal and Kensuke Honda's strike in the final 10 minutes led Japan to a 2-0 friendly win over a second-string Scotland.

Click here to follow us on Twitter! Click here for our special Transfer Centre! Click here for more football headlines! A Christophe Berra own goal and a side-footed effort by Keisuke Honda in the final eight minutes earned Japan a 2-0 victory over a makeshift Scotland at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has expressed his disappointment at facing a weakened Scotland in the friendly at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.

A POWERFUL typhoon approaching Japan's main islands could force the postponement of today's Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong.

Hong Kong have the opportunity to test themselves against the cream of the region when they take on Japan in the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers tomorrow.

Naohiro Ishikawa has finally been rewarded for his stellar season at FC Tokyo when he was among 28 named by manager Takeshi Okada on Thursday for Japan's upcoming internationals against Hong Kong, Scotland and Togo.