Japanese athletes react to Olympic postponement
Some of Japan’s top athletes have expressed mixed feelings following Tuesday’s announcement that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the International Olympic Committee had agreed to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics for “about a year” amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Veteran female sport climber Akiyo ...
Midfielder Junya Ito bagged his first goal of the season for Genk in the Belgian top-flight side's 2-1 win at Cercle Brugge. Ito opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Jan Breydel Stadium before Cercle Brugge equalized in the second half. Sander Berge sealed ...
A lack of ruthlessness in front of the goal proved costly for Japan's Olympic hopefuls on Sunday as they lost 2-0 to Colombia in an under-22 friendly. Headlined by senior national team regulars Takefusa Kubo and Ritsu Doan, Hajime Moriyasu's side created several scoring opportunities ...
Midfielder Ritsu Doan came off the bench in the second half to score his first goal for PSV Eindhoven in Sunday's 4-0 thrashing of PEC Zwolle in the Dutch first division. Doan entered the game six minutes after the break and found the net in ...
Japanese midfielder Ritsu Doan is set to transfer from FC Groningen to fellow Dutch first-division side PSV Eindhoven, the latter club announced Tuesday. The 21-year-old joined Groningen in 2017 from the J. League's Gamba Osaka and scored nine goals in his first season with the ...
Keito Nakamura, FC Twente fend off late attack from Ritsu Doan's Groningen
Japanese forward Keito Nakamura scored for the second straight match to help FC Twente withstand a late goal from Ritsu Doan en route to a 3-1 away win over nine-man Groningen in the Dutch first division on Saturday. After a first half featuring two Groningen ...
Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu confident about future despite loss in Asian Cup final
Despite the disappointment of a surprise 3-1 loss against Qatar in the Asian Cup final on Friday, Japan saw encouraging performances from several of its emerging players in the United Arab Emirates. Manager Hajime Moriyasu, who took the reins following last summer's World Cup, overlooked ...
Japan defeats Vietnam in Asian Cup quarterfinals after VAR assists Ritsu Doan penalty
The video assistant referee made a decisive debut in the Asian Cup on Thursday, playing a role in Ritsu Doan's penalty goal in Japan's 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Vietnam. Groningen winger Doan gave Japan the lead 12 minutes after the break when he converted the ...
Japan fails to shift attack into gear
"Defense wins championships," as the old saying goes. The Samurai Blue certainly needed plenty of it on Monday after maintaining less than 24 percent possession over 90 minutes of their Asian Cup round of 16 win against Saudi Arabia under the baking sun at Sharjah ...
Yuya Osako scores twice as Japan rallies past Turkmenistan in Asian Cup opener
Yuya Osako scored a second-half brace before Ritsu Doan added a third as Japan battled from behind for a 3-2 win over Turkmenistan in Group F in its opening match of the AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday. Coming into the ...
Following a turbulent year that brought joy and heartbreak, the Japan men's national team will head to the Asian Cup full of optimism, with a new core of emerging players. The Samurai Blue will kick off the Jan. 5 to Feb. 1 tournament in the ...
Dynamic trio of Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan and Shoya Nakajima named to Japan's Asian Cup squad
Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu on Wednesday named his 23-man squad for the Asian Cup, sticking with the core of players who have helped him stay unbeaten since taking the reins of the senior national side in late July. Having blossomed under Moriyasu's stewardship, the ...
