J. League

Andres Iniesta scored for the second game running Wednesday as Vissel Kobe battled their way to an entertaining 1-1 draw with J. League leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Having opened his account with an eye-catching effort in Vissel's 2-1 win over Jubilo Iwata on Saturday, the Barcelona ...

Hiroaki Okuno and Takuma Nishimura both scored in the second half as Vegalta Sendai beat Kashiwa Reysol 2-0 on Saturday to claim their first J. League win in four games. Vegalta went into the match at Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium having picked up only four ...

Ademilson's goal in the final seconds of injury time earned Gamba Osaka a 2-1 win over FC Tokyo in Friday's lone J. League first-division game. The win ended Gamba's eight-game winless streak in the league and left second-place FC Tokyo five points back of leaders ...

Independiente became the third Argentine side to capture the Suruga Bank Championship on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over J. League first-division side Cerezo Osaka. Playing for the second time in the game between the champions of South America's Copa Sudamericana and Japan's league cup, ...

Kashiwa Reysol snapped a four-game J. League losing streak Sunday with a 2-1 win away to Consadole Sapporo. In an end-to-end to contest at Sapporo Dome, Reysol outdueled fourth-place Consadole to claim victory for the first time since beating last-place Nagoya Grampus on May 20. Reysol ...

Striker Shinzo Koroki scored his 10th J. League goal of the season and Fabricio netted an injury-time penalty as Urawa Reds beat Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 on Wednesday night. The victory was the second in a row against top-three opposition for Reds, following an emphatic 4-1 ...

Sagan Tosu and Jubilo Iwata battled their way to a 0-0 stalemate Saturday as marquee signing Fernando Torres made his first J. League start for the home side. The former Liverpool and Atletico Madrid forward, who debuted in last Sunday's 1-0 loss away to Vegalta ...

V-Varen Nagasaki upset FC Tokyo 1-0 with an adventurous display of attacking soccer Friday night, thwarting the second-place side's hopes of closing the gap on J. League leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima. The loss was just the first in 10 matches for FC Tokyo, which was ...

Yuma Suzuki and Shoma Doi scored second-half goals in quick succession Wednesday night in the Kashima Antlers' 2-0 win away to Cerezo Osaka. The victory at Yanmar Stadium lifted Kashima up three places to seventh on the J. League table, but it may have come ...

Sagan Tosu have acquired former Japan forward Mu Kanazaki from Kashima Antlers, the J. League squad announced on Tuesday. In a statement issued by the club, the 29-year-old Kanazaki said he wants to "adjust to the team as soon as possible and contribute to winning." Kanazaki ...

Former Spain internationals Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres were each on the losing side Sunday in their anticipated J. League debuts. Iniesta received a hero's welcome from Vissel Kobe fans at Noevir Stadium, but Shonan Bellmare spoiled the party by running away 3-0 winners. Torres, meanwhile, ...