The J-talk Podcast

J1 returned with a bang after the international break, and in Part 1 of this new episode Jonny and Ben were joined by Kashiwa correspondent Seamus Johnston to chat about a fascinating set of results for the title chasers - Kobe and leaders Kashima drawing on Friday night, before Seamus's Reysol demolished Gamba (sorry Jonny) on Saturday and Kyoto gutted out a dramatic late point with ten men on Sunday (to 37:40). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben round up the relegation dogfight, which, as we long suspected, is now a straight shootout for survival between the two Yokohama clubs, then the other games before a look ahead to midweek and weekend action.

Jon Steele and James Taylor catch up on the situation in J3 with 7 games left. They start with the automatic promotion places (to 05:00), then discuss the playoffs (to 12:35), before a look at the battle to avoid relegation (to 32:10). They have a brief look ahead to this weekend’s big fixtures to end the episode.   Special thanks to Mike Innes for the detailed taking points.   Thanks for your support of the J-Talk Podcast, J-Talk: Extra Time, and J-Talk: Short Corner. *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

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.

In this episode of JTET, James Taylor rounds up 9 games from J2 matchday 32 (to 07:45), then chats to Jon Steele about the Shikoku Derby between Tokushima and Imabari (to 25:00). Then it’s time for Most Bravo Player and a quick preview of the most interesting games coming up this weekend (to end).   Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time. *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

J1 Matchday 33 was chock full of drama, and after a brief review of the ACL action from last midweek, Jonny and Ben run through the weekend's games involving the title contenders in Part 1, culminating with the huge Kashima vs Gamba Osaka game on Sunday (to 43:10). Then in Part 2 our Tokyo Verdy correspondent Lewis White returns to the pod to chat about Verdy's vital win on Friday night, the season so far, and the future of manager Hiroshi Jofuku (to 1:03:12), before Jonny and Ben round up the other games, look ahead to the Levain Cup semi finals and Japan's games against Paraguay and Brazil.

Jon Steele and James Taylor are back with all the latest from J2. James kicks things off with a review of 9 games from matchday 31 (to 08:45). Jon takes over for a chat with James about Oita v Ehime (to 31:35), before moving on to general J2 news and Most Bravo Player (to 50:55). To finish, the co-hosts preview the biggest games coming up this weekend (to end).   Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time. *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

With two bumper matchdays in the top flight in the past week to review, Jonny and Ben were joined first by Yokohama FC correspondent Jon Steele, who then stuck around as F.Marinos correspondent Stuart Woodward made it a Yokohama-centric Part 1 after both sides won on Sunday evening. With six games left, which club will survive in J1, or could they both overhaul some of the dogfight adjacent teams struggling for results? Part 1 runs to 37:55. Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben run through the rest of the games, as the title race narrowed.

In this week’s JTET, James Taylor reviews all the action from J2 matchday 30, picks his Most Bravo Player, and previews the matchday 31 fixtures.   Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time. *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

Jonny and Ben kick off the episode with a review of ACL action from last midweek (to 9:00), before diving in on the eight games played from J1 Matchday 30 on Saturday night, as Kashima moved back to the summit after Kyoto slipped at home. We rule a couple of big fish out of the title race, before moving on to all of the action in the dogfight (to 1:06:00). We then wrap up the pod with a look ahead to the next two rounds, played on Tuesday night and the weekend.

In this double episode of JTET, Jon Steele and James Taylor review all the action from the last two rounds of J2. First, Jon has a review of all 10 games from matchday 28 (to 13:35), then James reviews most of the games from matchday 29 (to 21:00). After that, the co-hosts discuss Omiya v Nagasaki (to 41:10), their Most Bravo Players and the J.League’s monthly awards for August (to 49:40). Finally, they look ahead to some important games at both ends of the table (to end).   Thank you for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk: Extra Time. *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

Sean Carroll joined Jonny and Ben to give his thoughts on Japan's two friendlies in the United States, and the state of the J1 title race and relegation dogfight after the weekend's J1 Matchday 29 (to 56:25). Then in Part 2, Jonny and Ben wrap up the remaining four games.

Jon Steele welcomes back a jetlagged James Taylor for the latest checkup on J3. The episode begins with a brief recap of Sagamihara’s Emperor’s Cup quarter final (to 02:45), before discussing teams near the top of the table: Nara (to 05:55), Kagoshima (to 09:15), Tochigi City (to 15:40), FC Osaka (to 20:40), and Hachinohe (to 29:25). Then attention turns to the bottom and the perilous predicaments of Nagano (to 37:20) and Numazu (to 40:20), before Jon lets James loose in Kanazawa Korner (to 47:00). Finally, there’s a look ahead to the round 27 fixtures (to end).   Thanks for your support of the J-Talk Podcast, J-Talk: Extra Time, and J-Talk: Short Corner. *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

After Jonny and Ben begin the episode by rounding up the Levain Cup quarter finals (to 14:15), they were joined by first time guest Naoya Kanai to chat about Kawasaki Frontale's progression to the Levain semis and their season so far, before we moved on to Japan's scoreless draw against Mexico in Oakland, and looked ahead to the Samurai Blue's meeting with the USA in Columbus, also touching on similarities and differences between the J.League and MLS.

After Kyoto moved clear on top of J1 with ten rounds left, Jamie Meikle made a very welcome return to the pod to discuss Sanga's 5-0 romp over Okayama on Saturday, and what's gone so right in his side's remarkable campaign to this point (to 32:07). Then Jonny and Ben round up the rest of the top flight results, beginning with Kashiwa's controversy-tinged home win over Fukuoka, and Kobe edging past Yokohama F.Marinos, before we discuss a couple of game-of-the-season contender goal-fests.

Very late this time (apologies!), Jon Steele rounds up all of last weekend's J2 action in a 15-minute solo pod. Also includes the regular Most Bravo Player segment, a check on the top and bottom of the table, and a preview of this weekend's action (Round 28)! Sorry again for the late upload, and thanks for the continued support! *You can join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *You can join our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg

Kyoto and Kashima lead the way at the top of J1 after the weekend's Matchday 27, and after rounding up their very contrasting results (to 16:30), Jonny and Ben are joined by Kashiwa correspondent Seamus Johnston to chat about Reysol's brilliant come from behind home win over Urawa on Friday night and other talking points around the club (to 39:50). Then Jonny and Ben run through the other results from the weekend, before looking ahead to midweek Emperor's Cup quarter finals and Thursday's national team squad announcement.

After another busy round of J2 action, Jon Steele (flying solo this time) checks in on all of the main talking points in a 15-minute mini-pod. Also includes the usual segments - Most Bravo Player chat, and a look ahead to this weekend's Round 27 fixtures! *You can join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *You can join our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg Thanks for all of your support!

With Ben back in Australia, Alan Gibson joined Jonny to run through all the major talking points from Round 26 of the J1 season. Time Stamps: Start - 01:50 Intro / Emperor’s Cup 01:50 - 1:36.24 Round 26 Review  1:36.25 - End Round 30/27 Preview Thanks again for listening!

Embarrassingly late this week, JTET is back with all of the latest news from a J2 standpoint. This time, Jon kicks off Part 1 with a review of the recent Emperor's Cup Round of 16 ties (from a J2 perspective), and rounds up all of last weekend's J2 action (Round 25 of the season). After that, Jon was joined by Big Pod regular (but JTET debutant) Ryo Nakagawara to talk in detail about Imabari's home win over Kumamoto. The boys also chatted about some Most Bravo Players from the round, along with the official monthly J2 awards for July and Sapporo's change of manager. Finally, Jon picked Ryo's brains about the upcoming Round 26 matches. Timecodes: Start to 16:10 - Emperor's Cup & J2 Round 25 Roundup 16:10 to 44:20 - Imabari v Kumamoto 44:20 to 57:30 - Most Bravo Player discussion 57:30 to 01:01:00 - J2 Monthly Awards for July 01:01:00 to 01:09:40 - Sapporo's change of manager 01:09:40 to Finish - J2 Round 26 Preview *You can join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *You can join ou

With J3 taking a short summer break at the moment, it seemed like the ideal time to record our latest J-Talk: Short Corner J3 Special for 2025! In this August edition, Jon Steele was joined by long-suffering Gifu supporter, groundhopper extraordinaire, and J3 expert Richy Palmer for a look at the current state of the third tier. In Part 1, Jon quizzes Richy on his trip to Nagasaki's beautiful Peace Stadium to catch their J2 game against Sendai. The conversation then moves on to cover the J3 promotion scene, with automatic promotion and Play-Off contenders all assessed. After a quick break, Part 2 begins with a check on the relegation zone and the rest of the bottom half of the J3 standings. There's also chat about teams in contention for promotion to J3 from the JFL, and Richy picks out some of the most interesting transfers that have taken place during the summer window. We hope everyone enjoys the show! Timecodes Start to 13:00 - Richy's Nagasaki trip (not J3-related but we'll let him off with a warning) 13