No ... It's all circumstancial. Chances they're all out next round. Change happens over longer periods of time.
Good point there but I think Urawa might go further than last year. Hopefully a J league team can at least make it to the semis this year.
gonna depend on the draw. But they're perennial chokers, it's in their DNA at this point, so you can't really project too much.
Indeed, they seem to be choking when they have someting on their shoulders. When they don't they play the best football in Japan. Not just this year but for at least 2 last seasons. And now they have a real brutal striker in the person of Rafa Silva. He just entered the pitch in second half and poof - two great goals and one beautiful assit. Pure class. Add to that that they showed this season that when hey're not in their best physical form they can adjust to the opponent's tactics and win the game which they lacked in the past. And poor Omiya. Misha rested Rafa, Koroki, Abe and Endo for Sunday it seems And a good outcome for the rest of Japanese teams (aside from aforementioned Gamba) - things finally start to look bright for them as well.
The 2 best teams in East Asia at the moment are arguably both in Group F ( Urawa and Shanghai SIPG), so there is not really any team they need to fear more than others. Evergrande haven't looked as strong as in earlier seasons, and Urawa proved they could beat them last year. Jiangsu looks the most dangerous team they can meet, but if they win their last match as well they will secure 1st place and then avoid Jiangsu in the next round. And if Kashima win against Muang Thong at home in their last match, they will also get 1st place, which at this point seems to be a major advantage.
Yes but Urawa have, for years now, been proving that they always stumble on the last step. It would be circumstancial if it wasn't the same thing every single year. Against FC Seoul, they just had to old on for a couple more minutes and they still managed to blow it. So let's be careful. Majster > I agree with you. They are the best team in Japan. But it is what it is, they haven't showed they could finish the job.
Hope most of Kawasaki's injured players can heal by the knockout stages e.g Ryota Oshima, etc., I think they have a shot at QFs too. If not, they have a hard time balancing between the league and the ACL. Jiangsu Suning definitely has the toughest style for Japanese teams to play against.
Oshima will return soon. Eduardo already is recovered. Elsinho should return at the end of May. Ienaga should return soon as well.
looks like losing to Muang Thong wasn't that lol after all looking forward to see that little guy who scored the second goal in Jleague anyway.
Really like Tatsuki Nara's style. Fast and physical, he reminds me of Konno when he attempts to snatch the ball surprisingly. If he was younger by a bit, I think European clubs might be interested in him.
Shoji is better than Nara. Nara and Shoji are less than a year apart, at the pace Nara is developing currently, by the time Nara gets to Shoji' level, these clubs might shun away from him due to his age as he will probably be around 26/27 with no European experience. He might become like Kawashima,etc. playing in the Belgian or Dutch league at that age.
Actually I think Nara's lack of size (180cm) might be a bigger question mark to European scouts, although he's not bad in the air. He doesn't have the on-ball skills to play DM so...it might be tough to move abroad at any rate.
True about his size, but his on-ball skills aren't that bad, his style reminds me of Konno by the way, he can used for JNT if they need to specifically man-mark a quick and fast player. He is very tenacious when vieing for the ball, a bit like Okazaki.
Nara will be as good if not better than Shoji as he keeps on playing, Shoji is far from a perfect defender.
Shoji has been Kashima's most consistent CB this season with Ueda making costly mistakes at times e.g Brisbane. Obviously Shoji still has a lot to improve on but he is better than Nara by quite a bit despite only a few months between them. There is a reason why Nara has no offers from abroad whereas Shoji has.
Not really. Shoji has many concentration lapses and he's terrible with the ball at his feet. Besides, Nara spent a year on the sidelines.
Lol, You think Nara is better than Shoji with the ball at his feet? However, Nara currently definitely is below Shoji, there is a reason why Nara has no interest from abroad. Nara is going to be 24 soon, he is only a few months younger than Shoji. I quite like Nara's style cuz he reminds me of Konno.
We'll see. The only reason Nara is playing right now is because of all the injuries Kawasaki have had this season. When James, Igawa, Eduardo and Elsinho returns he might not even be in the starting lineup anymore. He's arguably enjoying his best spell of football since 2013 at Consadole though, so nothing would be better if he could make that CB-position his own. Igawa is too old anyway, and James need to prove himself again too now that he's at a new club.
Igawa is getting on in years and Elsinho is a RB. His main competition is with Neto and James mostly. Actually Nara can be tried as a DM imo, his ball-playing skills aren't that bad if played as an DM for J league or ACL standards anyway.
Looks like Japanese derby avoided. Kashima and Kawasaki finished top of their group. Kashima will face Guangzhou Evergrande.
Urawa-Jeju Kawasaki-Muangthong Guangzhou-Kashima Last one will be a firing challenge. But if Kashima throw them out, then they can go until the end. I expect Urawa and Kawasaki to progress.
They're all going to be challenges. It could end up 0/3 at the end, none of these teams are known for their consistency or ability to rise up when the stakes are higher.
Both Urawa and Shanghai SIPG wanted to avoid Jeju lol, both of them lost tonight. I think Kawasaki might actually have the best chance to proceed out of the 3 imo.