Kashima Antlers showed how far Japanese soccer has come when they gave Real Madrid a mighty scare in the Club World Cup final last Sunday, but it may be some time before a J. League champion gets to take advantage of Japan hosting the tournament again.
Antlers pushed Madrid all the way to extra time before finally succumbing 4-2 in Yokohama, and the players’ post-match disappointment at not being able to beat the 11-time European champions — a feat that only two teams have managed this year — was a telling indicator of how close they came.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.