@jtalket.bsky.social
A weekly football podcast that covers Japan’s J2 League, with a monthly check-in on the J3 League. Members of the @jtalkpod.bsky.social family. Join our dedicated Discord server: https://discord.gg/QSvZNeJF
⚽ On the ball - 16/03/2026
I guessed the player in 2 guesses
Score: 38
Top 13% of players today
See if you can beat me!
Wordle 1,731 5/6
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Attendance at Mitsuzawa this afternoon (hot & sunny until HT, then cloudy & cool) for Yokohama FC 3-0 Gunma: a pretty-much-par 5, 372.
Shout out to the visiting Gunma supporters, who were impressively boisterous & colorful! Their team also played some good football at times today. #JLeague
While YFC are clearly a work in progress, this was an important win for Daisuke Sudo, with the team opening the scoring, & keeping a clean sheet, for the 1st find under his management.
Hopefully this will give the players a lot of confidence for upcoming matches!
My man of the match: Ryo Kubota.
Before the break it was 2-0, Yokoyama stealing the ball from Riku Kamigaki just inside the Gunma half then firing past the out-of-position Kim from about 45 yards (another excellent finish).
Just after the break, a CK from Kaili Shimbo led to the ball bobbling over the line via a Gunma DF for 3-0.
Encouraged by Gunma’s willingness to pass the ball around at the back, YFC were onto the front foot early in this one & forced a string of corners.
Midway through the 1st half, visiting GK Kim Je Hee’s weak clearance allowed Yokoyama to fire in a brilliant goal from the edge of the PK area for 1-0.
In warm spring sunshine at Mitsuzawa, it’s finished Yokohama FC 3-0 Thespa Gunma in Round 6 of the J2/J3 100 Year Vision League.
Akiyuki Yokoyama scored an excellent brace to give the hosts a 2-goal lead at the break, & an own goal early in the 2nd half gave Gunma too steep a mountain to climb.
2026 MEIJI YASUDA J2/J3 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE
ROUND 6
DEUS EN COMANDO
Wordle 1,730 3/6
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JTET on tour!
NEW POD RELEASE (GENERAL)
There’s still time to listen to this week’s new JTET episode, now available on the free @jtalkpod.bsky.social PodBean feed!
This time, Jon talks visiting to Hachinohe in the East, with James focusing on Miyazaki & Toyama in the West. jtalkpod.podbean.com/e/j-talk-ext...
NEW POD RELEASE (GENERAL)
There’s still time to listen to this week’s new JTET episode, now available on the free @jtalkpod.bsky.social PodBean feed!
This time, Jon talks visiting to Hachinohe in the East, with James focusing on Miyazaki & Toyama in the West. jtalkpod.podbean.com/e/j-talk-ext...
Wordle 1,729 4/6
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They found The Nightmare Begins!!! Why not whet your appetite by watching the animation I wasted 3 years of my life on!*
*Not really - I had a great time and learned a lot. And it was never intended to be a recreation of the episode; rather, my interpretation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2--O...
NEW POD RELEASE (PATREON)
This week’s regularly-scheduled JTET pod is now available for @jtalkpod.bsky.social Patrons!
In this episode, James & Jon look back at the most recent round of matches in the J2/J3 100 Year Vision League (plus Jon’s road trip to Hachinohe)!
#JLeague
NEW POD RELEASE (PATREON)
This week’s regularly-scheduled JTET pod is now available for @jtalkpod.bsky.social Patrons!
In this episode, James & Jon look back at the most recent round of matches in the J2/J3 100 Year Vision League (plus Jon’s road trip to Hachinohe)!
#JLeague
⚽ On the ball - 13/03/2026
I guessed the player in 2 guesses
Score: 63
Top 28% of players today
See if you can beat me!
⚽ On the ball - 12/03/2026
I guessed the player in 1 guess
Score: 65
Top 28% of players today
See if you can beat me!
Wordle 1,727 6/6
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Attendance at a 100% windy, 25% snowy PriFoods Stadium for Hachinohe 1-1 Yokohama FC (2-4 on PKs) in the J2/J3 100 Year Vision League: a not-too-shabby 2, 785.
It really felt like winter, & the stadium is brutally exposed to the elements! #JLeague
Bring your big coat!
Would like to get up there in 26/27 for the Blaublitz away game. Hopefully the date is a decent one and I can make it.
I strongly recommend catching a game at PriFoods Stadium if you get the chance.
Access is not the best & it feels like it might be windy most of the time due to the terrain, but the locals are friendly & the sightlines to the pitch are good!
Just as we were losing hope, Adailton came off the bench to flick in Ryo Kubota’s driven cross-shot in the 82nd minute, forcing a PK shootout.
Much hilarity was generated by the scoreboard, which displayed a graphic with kicks from 0-9 for the shootout!
At this point, Ichikawa earned us 2 points.
Although the weather, strong wind with some snow flurries & sunshine seemingly at random, was a problem for both sides, there was plenty of effort on show.
Ichikawa kept us in the game with a great save on the hour, blocking a shot from Daisuke Inazumi (one of several home players who impressed).
In typical Yokohama FC fashion, we were caught out by the conditions early on, & scored (yet another) calamitous own goal in the 4th minute.
Rookie CB Hayato Sugita tired to head clear, but only succeeded in nodding the ball past outrushing GK Ichikawa & into the empty net.
Words failed me here.
Upon arrival at the ground (by impressively expensive taxi from Misawa Airport), it was immediately evident that the strong winds would probably have a big influence on the game. This was the only game I’ve been to where the wind speed was announced before KO (10 m/s, which went up to 11 m/s later).
After a windswept & bitterly cold 90 minutes of attritional football at PriFoods Stadium, it was delightful to see Yokohama FC triumph 4-2 in a PK shoot-out against hosts Hachinohe.
GK Akinori Ichikawa was the man of the match, saving 2 penalties in the shoot-out. All 4 of our PKs were perfect!
Wordle 1,725 2/6
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⚽ On the ball - 08/03/2026
I guessed the player in 1 guess
Score: 65
Top 42% of players today
See if you can beat me!