The Nippon Professional League season is coming to a close in 2022. After this week's games, Japanese soccer will take a temporary break to prepare for the Qatar World Cup final week, which begins on November 20th. With the championship and relegation situation still in limbo despite the end of the season, let's take a look at some insight into the final situation in the Nippon Professional League.
Yokohama Mariners and Kawasaki Frontale in title fight
Last year's winners and runners-up, Kawasaki Frontale and Yokohama Marinos, will meet again this season, and the winner will not be revealed until the final round. The Yokohama Mariners have been at the top of the table all season, at one point leading Kawasaki Strikers by 8 points, but lost to relegation rivals Hida Osaka and Yamaha Iwata at crucial moments, and the lead disappeared in an instant. Fortunately, in the last round of matches, Yokohama Mariners won 4-1 at home against Urawa Red Diamonds to keep the 2-point advantage at the top of the table.
Kawasaki Striker, who is striving for the third consecutive championship, has lost core players such as Tanaka Bea, Mitaka Kaoru, and Flagman Reio in recent years, but still maintains its dominant position. This season, most of the team's main players stayed in the team, and the joining of Thailand's number one player, Chai Nadip Sangsangsin (Chai Nadip), was even more expected. However, the performance of Kawasaki Frontale declined after the start of the season, and after the end of the AFC Champions League due to injury problems once lost the opportunity to compete for the title, but fortunately the team in the late stages of the season is getting better, and ultimately, only 2 points difference with the Yokohama Mariners.
Yokohama Mariners will face Kobe Victory ship on the road this week, while Kawasaki Frontale will face FC Tokyo on the road. Yokohama Mariners are 11 goals ahead of Kawasaki Strikers in terms of goals scored and conceded, and the latter has no chance of overtaking them in terms of numbers. Therefore, Yokohama Mariners can win the championship if they don't lose on the road, which is a slight advantage. It's also worth noting that Kawasaki's Akira Taniguchi and Yoshinori Yamane have been selected for Japan's World Cup roster, so we'll see if the team can pull off a miracle with their luck!
Sanfrecce Hiroshima's AFC Champions League spot up in the air
Sanfrecce Hiroshima lost their last league match, but with Sakura Osaka also failing to win, Sanfrecce Hiroshima still ended the season in third place. This season, Sanfrecce Hiroshima not only won the League Cup, but also finished second in the Emperor's Cup, which is a great harvest.
In the past, the third place of the Nippon Professional Football League (NPFL) could qualify for the AFC Cup's final round, but the AFC has reserved one of the places for the defending champions starting from the next edition of the AFC Cup. Therefore, whether Sanfrecce Hiroshima will be able to participate in the next AFC Champions League will depend on the performance of Urawa Red Diamonds in next year's AFC Cup final. If Urawa Red Diamonds fails to win the title, Sanfrecce Hiroshima will be sure to return to the Asian competition.
Relegation situation is confusing, Shimizu S Pulse is aiming for relegation
In terms of relegation, the last two teams in the Nippon Professional League will be relegated directly, while the bottom three teams will have to play a playoff with the winner of the JBPL promotion playoff. Therefore, except for the bottom team Iwata Yamaha who is sitting in the relegation seat, the bottom two to bottom six teams are still facing the risk of relegation, and the relegation situation in the last round is expected to be extremely fierce.
Sixth from bottom Shonan Bima is 3 points ahead of third from bottom Kyoto Immortals for the time being, as long as they don't lose against Kashiwa Reysol on the road in the last round, they will be sure not to be relegated. Fukuoka Hornets, on the other hand, are 1 point behind Shonan Bima and have already avoided direct relegation, but the team doesn't have any advantage in terms of goals scored and conceded. If they lose a point against Urawa Red Diamonds on the road and Kyoto Immortals and Osaka Flyers win at the same time, Fukuoka Hornets will drop to the bottom three and have to participate in the play-offs, so they still need to give their best this week.
Shizuoka City may become a "City of Sadness".
Flying Foot of Osaka, who have been disappointing this season, beat Yamaha Iwata 2-0 at home in the last round of the league to move up to the bottom four and send their rivals to the second division. Flyers Osaka will have to face Kashima Antlers on the road in the final round, which is a very tough situation. Kyoto Immortals, who are only 1 point behind, still have a chance to overtake them. Luckily, Osaka Flyers have a 3-point gap with Shimizu S Pulse, who are the second from the bottom, and can ensure they won't be relegated if they get a point on the road this week, so the pressure is relatively low.
Third-to-last Kyoto Immortals are the promoted team this season, and it makes sense that their record is mediocre. Last week's home draw with Sakura Osaka didn't help the relegation situation too much, while the Admirals have a clear goal in mind for this week's away match against Yamaha Iwata, as a win will ensure that they won't be relegated, and can even hopefully overtake Hida Osaka and Fukuoka Hornets to avoid the play-offs. Therefore, the priority for the Adena Birds is to win this week.
Shizuoka Prefecture team Iwata Yamaha has already been relegated, and Shimizu S Pulse, also from Shizuoka Prefecture, is in a tough relegation situation. They are currently on 33 points, 2 points behind Kyoto Budokai and 3 points behind Osaka Hida. This week, they will face Hokkaido Sapporo Gonzaga on the road, and in addition to winning themselves, they will also hope that Kyoto Immortals and Osaka Hida will lose points in order to avoid direct relegation. It is worth mentioning whether goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, who was selected for Japan's World Cup squad, can lead his team to a miracle?
From the above analysis, the final round of this year's Nippon Professional League is still full of talking points and deserves the attention of all fans. Along with Akibu Taniguchi, Sirai Yamane and Shuichi Gonda, Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Red Diamonds), and Yuki Soma (Nagoya Whale) have also been selected for the Japan World Cup roster. To get an idea of their form, don't forget to keep an eye on this week's matches!
This week's JLF live streaming schedule:
November 5, 2:00 pm: Kobe Marinos vs. Yokohama Marinos Cable TV 602/662
November 5, 2:00 pm FC Tokyo vs Kawasaki Frontale Cable 604/664
November 5, 3:00 p.m. Osaka Sakura vs. Nagoya Whale Cable 602/662
November 5, 7:00 PM Hokkaido Sapporo Gonzaga vs. Shimizu Heartbeat Cable TV 602/662
