Episode 590 - Japan 3-2 Brazil & The J1 Run-In with Ryo Nakagawara

Japan made history with a stunning 3-2 win over Brazil on Tuesday night, and Ryo Nakagawara joined Jonny and Ben for a deep dive on the game, the standout performers, and what the result means for the Samurai Blue going forward (to the hour mark), before we briefly looked back at the draw against Paraguay, and Ryo and Jonny ran through their lists of which players Hajime Moriyasu already has on the plane to the 2026 World Cup (to 1:29:45).

Next we returned to domestic matters by rounding up the Levain Cup semi finals, and looked ahead to who has the edge in the final between Hiroshima and Kashiwa, before finishing the episode with a look at the run-in in the top flight: Can any of the three teams on 60 points overhaul Kashima? And which of the Yokohama clubs will survive?

Follow Ryo on Bluesky and/or X/Twitter, and check out his work on his Shogun Soccer newsletter.