Sakamoto's Coventry head to north London, where Maddison meets an old club

• For Japanese viewers this fixture means Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. He moved from Montedio Yamagata to Cerezo Osaka, spent time at Oostende in Belgium and now attacks from wide for Coventry, using his 170cm frame for short, quick dribbles in tight areas. Getting himself facing forward against Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro is the challenge of his night.
• Tottenham have their own thread to this story. James Maddison had a spell at Coventry long before he made his name at Norwich City and Leicester City, and he now takes the free-kicks and corners as England's most inventive playmaker in the squad. Opposite him stand Matt Grimes, for years the left-footed captain of Swansea City, and academy product Josh Eccles.
• Promoted Coventry mix hardened professionals with new arrivals. Taiwo Awoniyi, the Nigeria striker of Union Berlin and Nottingham Forest fame, lines up with Ethan Pinnock, a left-footed Jamaica international who climbed out of non-league football, and Caleb Yirenkyi, a Ghanaian midfielder signed from Nordsjaelland for what is reported as a club-record fee. Igor Tudor's hosts answer with Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Sandro Tonali and Dominic Solanke.

Madrid neighbours collide as Mojica faces his Vallecas past

• Two clubs from the Madrid region meet at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Jose Bordalas has built Getafe on duels and set pieces, led by captain Djene Dakonam, who lacks height but reads danger early and can cover centre-back, right-back or the holding role. Inigo Perez's Rayo Vallecano reply with the running and bite personified by their own captain, Oscar Valentin.
• Getafe's left flank carries the night's reunion. Colombia international Johan Mojica once played for Rayo, and after spells at Girona, Elche, Atalanta and Villarreal he remains an attacking left-back whose overlaps and crossing give the hosts width. Young forward Josel came through the youth systems of both Rayo and Valencia, and he hunts chances inside the box.
• Rayo field a striker familiar to J.League followers. Brazilian forward Alemao spent time with Kyoto Sanga and later drove Real Oviedo's promotion push, and he still offers powerful hold-up play and a sharp instinct in the area. Alvaro Garcia, only 167cm but the holder of the club's La Liga appearance record, works the left, while Getafe counter with the 190cm Nigeria international Christantus Uche and Borja Mayoral.

Levante's young midfield take on Valverde's Athletic Club

• This is a round six fixture squeezed into late October, and Levante meet it with youth. Carlos Alvarez, a left-footed attacking midfielder from Sevilla's academy, was once named both best player and leading scorer at La Liga Promises. Around him are Hugo Sotelo, a Celta product who made his top-flight debut against Barcelona at 17, and La Masia graduate Oriol Rey, whose left foot sets the tempo.
• The home goal belongs to a well-travelled Australian. Mat Ryan has played for Brighton, Real Sociedad and, in this very city, Valencia, and he still reads the moment to rush off his line. In front of him are Aissa Mandi, an Algeria international with five seasons at Real Betis behind him, and Jeremy Toljan, a veteran of Borussia Dortmund and Celtic.
• Ernesto Valverde's visitors include a man who came home. Aymeric Laporte, a Premier League and Champions League winner at Manchester City, was raised in this club and lifts the quality of their build-up with his left-footed passing. Against Nico Williams's dribbling and the 188cm presence of Gorka Guruzeta, Levante lean on the pace of Etta Eyong, the Cameroon forward who scored 19 goals for Villarreal's B team.

Kawasaki and Kobe bring their MVPs, and a midfield battle for time on the ball

• Few J1 fixtures gather this many league Most Valuable Players. Kawasaki Frontale can call on Akihiro Ienaga, honoured in 2018, and Yu Kobayashi, who took both the MVP award and the Golden Boot in 2017. Vissel Kobe answer with Yoshinori Muto, the 2024 winner and the first Japanese player to score in the Bundesliga, the Premier League and La Liga.
• Both midfields want the ball. Kawasaki line up Ryota Oshima, long described as the heir to Kengo Nakamura, alongside Yasuto Wakizaka, a Best Eleven pick in three straight seasons, and the tireless Kento Tachibanada. Kobe counter with the 185cm Takahiro Ogihara and his left-footed range, plus Yosuke Ideguchi, scorer of the goal that sent Japan to a World Cup.
• The contrast at either end is just as interesting. Yuya Osako remains one of the finest hold-up forwards in Japan, and it falls to Filip Uremovic, a well-travelled Croatian defender, and the left-footed Yuichi Maruyama to deal with him. Going the other way, Tatsuya Ito and Marcinho attack the space behind Gotoku Sakai, once the first Japanese captain in Bundesliga history, and Kobe skipper Tetsushi Yamakawa.

Taiki Hirato hosts the club that raised him as Kyoto test Tomoki Hayakawa

• This is a personal night for Kyoto Sanga's Taiki Hirato. He learned his craft in the Kashima Antlers academy and later recorded a league-high 17 assists while at FC Machida Zelvia, and his striking of a dead ball is as precise as his open-play delivery. How much quality service he can feed into his old club's defensive line may decide the evening.
• Kyoto attack with real conviction. Brazilian striker Rafael Elias hit ten goals in his first ten matches for the club, matching the quickest start J1 has seen, and he is now their all-time leading scorer in the league. On the right is Masaya Okugawa, an academy graduate back after nine and a half years away at Red Bull Salzburg and in the Bundesliga, facing Kashima's Tomoki Hayakawa, the 2025 J.League MVP and a Best Eleven selection.
• The visitors have firepower of their own. Yuma Suzuki fights for every ball while combining hold-up play with finishing, Leo Ceara arrives as the man whose goals drove the 2025 title win, and Elber and Yan Matheus bring their Yokohama F. Marinos experience. Kyoto meet them with the 192cm Hisashi Appiah Tawiah and Yoshinori Suzuki at the back, and with Joao Pedro and Mitsuki Saito contesting every loose ball.

Shimizu meet Machida with Oh Se-hun and Ryohei Shirasaki facing former clubs

• Reunions sit on both benches. Shimizu S-Pulse striker Oh Se-hun, 194cm and a genuine aerial handful with his back to goal, spent time at FC Machida Zelvia. Travelling the other way is Ryohei Shirasaki, a technician who played for Shimizu and has 176 J1 appearances and 21 goals to his name, and who still sets the rhythm of Machida's attack.
• Machida will attack the air and the set piece. Henry Heroki Mochizuki, 192cm, is a right-back with a long throw that travels close to fifty metres, and he has the 197cm Australian Tete Yengi and the 186cm Koki Ogawa, a former Eredivisie forward, waiting in the middle. Shimizu answer with Jelani Sumiyoshi and Sodai Hasukawa heading clear, and with former Kashima goalkeeper Yuya Oki behind them.
• The hosts carry a threat of their own. Ryo Germain is a powerful striker with a fierce left foot and a knack for running in behind, and in 2024 he scored 19 goals in 32 matches for Jubilo Iwata. He is joined by academy product Koya Kitagawa, who also played in Austria, and the left-footed Brazilian Capixaba, signed from Cerezo Osaka, while Machida rely on 2018 World Cup centre-back Gen Shoji and the left-footed Yuta Nakayama.

Mitoma's Brighton host Kamada and Tomiyasu in the M23 derby

• No Premier League fixture is more Japanese than this one. Kaoru Mitoma, the Tsukuba University graduate who left Kawasaki Frontale for Europe, breaks lines on the Brighton left with his changes of pace and short touches. Waiting for him is Takehiro Tomiyasu, four seasons an Arsenal player, a 187cm defender comfortable at right-back, centre-back or in front of the back four.
• Crystal Palace's other Japan international is just as interesting. Daichi Kamada won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt and still provides the decisive pass and the late run into the box from midfield. Under Oliver Glasner, one vertical ball from him to Ismaila Sarr or Jean-Philippe Mateta can turn Brighton's defensive line around in an instant.
• The midfield contrast carries the tactical weight. Fabian Hurzeler can field Mats Wieffer, a Conference League winner with Feyenoord, alongside Matt O'Riley, once voted the Scottish Premiership's best player at Celtic, and Pascal Gross, back from Borussia Dortmund. Palace counter with Adam Wharton's left foot and the ball-winning of Cheick Doucoure and Jefferson Lerma.

Leeds and Ao Tanaka welcome United, with Daniel James facing his old club

• Leeds run through Ao Tanaka. He touches the ball roughly ninety times a game and keeps his pass completion exceptionally high, a rhythm-setter who travelled from Kawasaki Frontale via Fortuna Dusseldorf to the Premier League. Pairing him with the 194cm German international Anton Stach sets up an intriguing battle with Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo.
• Both benches contain men returning to familiar ground. Daniel James, a Swansea City product, spent time at Manchester United and remains one of the quickest wingers in the division on the counter. United goalkeeper Karl Darlow, meanwhile, took the gloves at Leeds after his long spell at Newcastle and helped drive their promotion push.
• The forward lines are a study in contrasts. Daniel Farke can lead with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, nine years an Everton centre-forward, supported by the left-footed Joel Piroe and former AC Milan attacker Noah Okafor. Michael Carrick answers with the 195cm Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Marcus Rashford, back at Old Trafford after his time at Barcelona.

Daizen Maeda runs at City's high line as Ipswich stack the box

• This is the sternest test yet of what Daizen Maeda brings to England. A J1 Golden Boot winner who came up through Matsumoto Yamaga, Mito Hollyhock and Yokohama F. Marinos before nearly five years at Celtic, he offers extraordinary pace and relentless pressing. Against Pep Guardiola's famously high line, the run in behind Josko Gvardiol is the moment to watch for.
• Ipswich have built their defence around size. Issa Diop, 194cm, played Ligue 1 as a teenager at Toulouse and later joined West Ham; Dara O'Shea, 189cm, is an aggressive front-foot Ireland international; Cedric Kipre adds another 193cm frame. How that trio handles crosses and loose balls against Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush will decide the shape of the afternoon.
• City's midfield is a parade of recent business. Elliot Anderson, raised at Newcastle and signed from Nottingham Forest for a record fee for a British player, lines up with Marc Guehi, who arrived from Crystal Palace, and Nico Gonzalez, who matured into a first-choice holder at Porto. Azor Matusiwa and Florentino Luis are charged with slowing Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku.

Betis host Barcelona with Ezzalzouli and Bartra facing their old home

• Two reunions sit on the same team sheet. Abde Ezzalzouli, the explosive Morocco winger, came through Barcelona before settling in Seville, and still cuts in from the left to shoot or slide a pass through. Alongside him, centre-back Marc Bartra is another La Masia graduate, back in Spain after Borussia Dortmund and now the calm voice in the Betis back line.
• Manuel Pellegrini's side rely on craft rather than force. Isco, a four-time Champions League winner at Real Madrid, slows the game down in central areas, while Giovani Lo Celso threads left-footed passes after his years at PSG and Tottenham. On the right, Antony, formerly of Ajax and Manchester United, gives them a genuine one-against-one threat.
• Hansi Flick's Barcelona mix youth and pedigree. Lamine Yamal, born in 2007 and a first-team player at 15, attacks from the right, Raphinha carries the ball on the left after his Leeds United years, and Pedri and Dani Olmo dictate through the middle. Rodri, a Ballon d'Or winner, screens a defence featuring Pau Cubarsi and Jules Kounde.

Valencia and Ryunosuke Sato take on Valverde's Athletic Club

• Valencia's new Japanese teenager is reason enough to tune in. Ryunosuke Sato spent roughly a decade in FC Tokyo's system, from their football school to the first team, before a permanent move to Spain in July 2026. At 171cm he relies on technique and drive rather than power, and how Carlos Corberan fits him around Javi Guerra and Pepelu is the local talking point.
• Ernesto Valverde's Athletic travel with serious individual quality. Nico Williams scored in the EURO 2024 final and was named the tournament's best player, while his brother Inaki, holder of a remarkable La Liga consecutive-appearance streak, leads the line as captain. Oihan Sancet arrives late into the box from midfield, and Unai Simon, Spain's first-choice goalkeeper, is behind them.
• The flanks should settle it. Pablo Maffeo is only 172cm but makes his living sticking tight to wingers, and a duel with Nico Williams would be worth the admission alone. Further forward, Harvey Elliott's left foot, on loan from Liverpool, has to find a way past Aymeric Laporte, a Champions League winner at Manchester City.

Gary O'Neil's young Strasbourg take on Luis Enrique's PSG

• Strasbourg face the champions with one of Europe's youngest squads. Joaquin Panichelli, the 186cm Argentine raised at River Plate, earned his move after a prolific loan at Mirandes and now leads the line. Around him are Sebastian Nanasi, signed from Malmo, and Giovanni Reyna, who at 17 became the youngest American to appear in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
• The squad is also a map of recent English and Portuguese pathways. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen is a 192cm Dane who went from Villarreal to Chelsea, midfielder Mathis Amougou broke through at Saint-Etienne and won the bronze ball at the Under-17 World Cup, and Maxi Oyedele came through Manchester United's academy before establishing himself at Legia Warsaw.
• Luis Enrique's PSG will try to win the game in central midfield. Vitinha is almost impossible to press off the ball, with Joao Neves and Warren Zaire-Emery covering the ground around him. Ahead of them sit Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a Serie A champion at Napoli, with Achraf Hakimi sprinting beyond them on the right.

Ko Itakura returns to Groningen, where his European journey began

• This is a personal afternoon for Ko Itakura. The 188cm centre-back came through Kawasaki Frontale and Vegalta Sendai, spent his first European season at Groningen after joining Manchester City, and climbed through Schalke and Borussia Monchengladbach to become the first Japanese player in Ajax's history. His duel-winning and his reading of the game travel well; doing it in front of old supporters is another matter.
• Another Ajax defender knows this ground. Daley Blind, equally at home at centre-back, left-back or in midfield, had a spell at Groningen and still starts attacks with his left foot and his positional sense. Behind him stands Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who guarded Barcelona's goal for more than a decade, which gives the visitors unusually clean build-up from the back.
• Groningen answer with their academy. Thijmen Blokzijl, 190cm, holds the middle of the defence, and left-back Wouter Prins owns a genuine weapon in a long throw that reaches the penalty area. In midfield, Tygo Land, on loan from PSV, and Travis Hernes, borrowed from Newcastle United, are tasked with slowing Mika Godts and Oscar Gloukh.

The Tokyo derby, with Hirakawa and Yamada both facing former clubs

• The capital's derby is layered with transfer history. Verdy's Rei Hirakawa was labelled a prodigy in FC Tokyo's academy and played at the Under-17 World Cup; he now sets midfield rhythm with a mix of short and long passing. Going the other way, FC Tokyo's Fuki Yamada arrived via Kyoto Sanga and Verdy, and his left-footed free-kicks are among the best in the division.
• Verdy build around players they raised. Captain Koki Morita wears number 10 and keeps the ball calmly even under pressure, with academy products Joi Yamamoto and Shion Nakayama around him. Up front, Itsuki Someno, once the national high school tournament's top scorer with Shoshi High School and later a Kashima Antlers forward, links play and leads the press.
• FC Tokyo offer a sharp contrast of generations. Yuto Nagatomo, who played for Inter and Galatasaray, lines up with five-time J.League Best Eleven defender Masato Morishige and the 189cm Dane Alexander Scholz, himself a Best Eleven pick during his Urawa Reds years. Ahead of them, academy winger Kota Tawaratsumida and the 188cm Brazilian Marcelo Ryan carry the threat.

Noborizato meets the Kawasaki side he served for fifteen years

• Few reunions in Japan run deeper. Kyohei Noborizato gave Kawasaki Frontale fifteen years as a left-back, earning a J.League Best Eleven selection and collecting multiple league titles along the way. Now in Cerezo Osaka colours, he brings the same close control and the one-touch escapes that made him so hard to press.
• The midfield duel defines the texture of the match. Cerezo have Shinji Kagawa, a Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United veteran whose soft touch and quick first step still open tight spaces. Kawasaki reply with Ryota Oshima, often called the heir to Kengo Nakamura, and Yasuto Wakizaka, a Best Eleven pick in three consecutive seasons.
• There is a second homecoming on the Kawasaki right. Akihiro Ienaga, the 2018 J.League MVP, spent part of his career with Cerezo Osaka and still controls games with that loose-limbed rhythm and his changes of tempo. Cerezo answer through Shinnosuke Hatanaka, a title winner with Yokohama F. Marinos, and the 183cm holding midfielder Shunta Tanaka.

Six Japan internationals meet as City host Brighton

• No WSL fixture gathers more Japanese talent. Manchester City field Yui Hasegawa, captain of Japan, whose positioning and passing quality have carried her past a hundred appearances for the club. Aoba Fujino, a two-time WE League MVP, attacks from the left, and Ayaka Yamashita, named best goalkeeper at the 2026 Asian Cup, stands behind them.
• Brighton's pair were teammates long before England. Moe Minami won back-to-back Serie A titles with AS Roma and captained Japan at the Under-20 World Cup, and she reunited with Takako Seike, the first player ever to score a hat-trick on her WSL debut, after their years together at Urawa. Seike can play anywhere outside goal, which keeps City guessing.
• City's attacking depth is daunting. Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema, both formerly of Arsenal, line up with Jamaica's Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp on the left. Dario Vidosic's Brighton counter with Maelys Mpome and Lia Walti, title winners at Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, plus Fran Kirby, long nicknamed the mini Messi. Watch Risa Shimizu's overlaps from right-back too.

Manchester City visit Anfield with Isak and Haaland leading the lines

• Liverpool can call on Wataru Endo, the Japan captain who was crowned the Bundesliga's duel king during his Stuttgart years. His appetite for second balls and his reading of passing lanes make him an awkward counterweight to Nico Gonzalez, who held City's midfield together through Rodri's absence, and to the press-resistant Mateo Kovacic. If he gets on the pitch, the middle of the park becomes the story.
• The centre-forward billing is as good as the Premier League offers. Alexander Isak, signed from Newcastle for a record English fee, carries the ball like a winger despite standing 192cm, while Erling Haaland converts half-chances from any body shape. Virgil van Dijk and Ruben Dias are each handed a completely different puzzle to solve.
• Two architects of Leverkusen's unbeaten Bundesliga season now wear red. Florian Wirtz finds passing angles that barely exist and Jeremie Frimpong attacks from right-back like an auxiliary forward, which sets up a straight quality contest with Lyon-raised Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku. Arne Slot against Pep Guardiola provides the tactical frame around it.

Sesko, Cunha and Mbeumo face Tudor's Tottenham at Old Trafford

• Michael Carrick's United front line is essentially a list of the club's recent outlays. Benjamin Sesko, a €85m arrival from RB Leipzig, pairs a 195cm frame with accuracy off either foot, and he is flanked by Matheus Cunha from Wolves and Bryan Mbeumo, who hit 20 goals at Brentford. Where Bruno Fernandes chooses to slide his final ball will shape the whole evening.
• Tottenham build around Xavi Simons. Developed at Barcelona and PSG and handed the number 7 shirt once worn by Son Heung-min, the Netherlands international can flip a phase of play with one dribble or one disguised pass. James Maddison supplies the set-piece quality, while Igor Tudor can pair Sandro Tonali and Conor Gallagher behind them.
• The defensive match-ups are just as interesting. Micky van de Ven is among the quickest players in the division, a left-footed centre-back who covers vast ground alongside the physical Kevin Danso. United answer with the aggression of Lisandro Martinez and the mobility of Leny Yoro, who made his Ligue 1 debut at 16 with Lille.

Kamada and Tomiyasu host Forest as Henderson meets his old club

• Crystal Palace have two Japan internationals on the books. Daichi Kamada, a Europa League winner with Eintracht Frankfurt, supplies the decisive pass and the late run from midfield, while Takehiro Tomiyasu brings four seasons of Arsenal experience and the versatility to fill in at right-back, centre-back or in front of the defence.
• For club captain Dean Henderson this is a reunion. The Manchester United academy product spent time at Nottingham Forest earlier in his career and was central to Palace lifting the FA Cup in 2025. His reflexes and command of high crosses set the terms for how Vitor Pereira's side will try to break through.
• Forest's attack is stacked with English talent. Morgan Gibbs-White runs the show from the number ten role, flanked by James McAtee, who spent eleven years in Manchester City's academy, and Callum Hudson-Odoi, a Champions League and Europa League winner at Chelsea. Oliver Glasner's Palace will look to hit back through Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Kubo and Kita welcome a returning Deportivo to the Reale Arena

• Real Sociedad field two players who came through FC Tokyo's system. Takefusa Kubo is the right winger who draws defenders in with his left foot before cutting inside or releasing a runner, while Keita Kita, born in 2005, moved straight from FC Tokyo's under-18s to Spain and is pushing for first-team minutes with his pace and right-footed finishing.
• Deportivo are back in the top flight and have recruited for experience. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived from Marseille with the same instinct for running in behind that served him at Dortmund, Arsenal and Barcelona, and he takes the penalties. Behind him stands Jose Maria Gimenez, Uruguay's captain, who spent more than a decade at Atletico Madrid.
• Imanol Alguacil's side revolve around captain Mikel Oyarzabal, whose left foot settled the EURO 2024 final. He offers a neat contrast with Orri Oskarsson, signed from Copenhagen for a club-record fee to hold the ball up through the middle. Carlos Soler, formerly of Valencia and PSG, gives the hosts another route into the final third against Deportivo's La Masia-schooled anchor Marc Casado.

Madrid's Premier League imports take on Marcelino's Villarreal

• Carlo Ancelotti's squad is full of recent arrivals from England. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate both came from Liverpool, one bringing elite right-footed range and the other a huge covering radius, and they are joined by Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Chelsea's Marc Cucurella, each still carving out a role in Spain.
• The attacking firepower is undiminished. Kylian Mbappe's acceleration, Vinicius Junior's cut-ins and the penalty-box strength of Endrick, signed from Palmeiras, are supplemented by Arda Guler's left foot. Villarreal's answer is Logan Costa, who grew into one of Ligue 1's best defenders at Toulouse, alongside Renato Veiga, a club-record signing from Chelsea.
• Marcelino's Villarreal still build around club legend Gerard Moreno, whose left foot and composure in the box remain their reference point. Around him are Georges Mikautadze, a leading scorer at EURO 2024, and Nicolas Pepe, once a club-record arrival at Arsenal. Juan Foyth, a former Tottenham defender who helped Villarreal lift the Europa League in 2021, patrols the right.

Ueda's Lille host a Le Havre side carrying three Japanese players

• This is the most Japanese fixture on the Ligue 1 calendar. Lille's Ayase Ueda arrived in France via Cercle Brugge and Feyenoord and makes his living on movement inside the box and runs beyond the last defender. Le Havre counter with Ayumu Seko, a Cerezo Osaka product who is a centre-back by trade but comfortable screening midfield, with long-range distribution off either foot.
• Seko is not the only Japanese name in the away squad. Sota Nakamura swept the Kanto University League's scoring, assist and MVP awards at Meiji University and compensates for his 168cm frame with the quality of his off-the-ball movement. Kaito Mizuta, who worked his way up through German lower-league football with Straelen and Rot-Weiss Essen, gives Didier Digard another option.
• Lille's appeal lies in the mix of generations. Olivier Giroud, France's all-time leading scorer, is still the 193cm reference point in attack, while Ethan Mbappe, the left-footed younger brother of Kylian, develops in midfield. Captain Benjamin Andre holds the base, and how Bruno Genesio combines them is the question of the afternoon.

Watanabe against Ichihara: Japanese centre-backs on both sides in Rotterdam

• There is a Japanese defender in each back line. Feyenoord's Tsuyoshi Watanabe left FC Tokyo for Kortrijk and then Gent, where he wore the armband, and he organises the line in front of him. AZ's Rion Ichihara, born in 2005 and developed at RB Omiya Ardija, combines aerial strength with the vertical passing that starts his side's attacks.
• AZ also have Seiya Maikuma on the right. A converted forward turned attacking full-back, he was named in the J1 Best Eleven during his Cerezo Osaka years and held his own in Europa League nights against Tottenham. His relentless shuttling up and down the touchline means Feyenoord's left side will have a long evening.
• Several players face former employers. Calvin Stengs came through AZ's academy, played for Feyenoord after spells at Nice and Antwerp, and is now back where he started. Jordy Clasie made 129 appearances for Feyenoord before settling in Alkmaar, and Denso Casius also has Rotterdam on his CV. The hosts lead with Sem Steijn, a former Eredivisie top scorer signed for a club-record fee.

Friday night at Kashima: Shibasaki and Usami share a pitch

• Kashima's midfield still runs through Gaku Shibasaki, who spent seven seasons in Spain and scored twice against Real Madrid in the 2016 Club World Cup final. His vision and passing range remain among the best in the J.League. Ahead of him, Yuma Suzuki offers physical hold-up play and Léo Ceará the finishing, with Yuta Higuchi supplying set pieces.
• Gamba's emblem is Takashi Usami, who was fast-tracked into the first team as a high-school student, played for Bayern Munich and other German clubs, and returned home. Alongside him is Gaku Nawata, the AFC U-17 Asian Cup MVP and top scorer who arrived from Kamimura Gakuen, while Rui Araki, named best goalkeeper at the U-23 Asian Cup, waits behind them.
• Gamba centre-back Shogo Sasaki returns to the club that raised him. A left-footed defender who came through Kashima's academy before building experience at Iwate Grulla Morioka and JEF United Chiba, he starts possession with long diagonals. With Shinnosuke Nakatani and Genta Miura beside him, he faces a Kashima back line marshalled by Naomichi Ueda and Ikuma Sekigawa.

Scholz faces Urawa, the club he left, in a tie full of crossovers

• FC Tokyo have three players with Urawa in their past. The headline name is Alexander Scholz, the 189cm centre-back who was named in the J.League Best Eleven during his Saitama years and still organises the back line with clean, anticipatory defending. Right-back Hirokazu Ishihara and left-sided attacker Shion Homma, who also spent time at Club Brugge, complete the set.
• The traffic runs the other way too. Urawa's Ryoma Watanabe passed through FC Tokyo and Ingolstadt in Germany and describes himself as a utility man, capable of filling in from forward to defence. Veteran Kota Mizunuma is another former FC Tokyo player, delivering from the right, and Mateus Savio supplies the through balls that give Urawa their shape in the final third.
• There is no shortage of experience either. FC Tokyo can call on Yuto Nagatomo, whose running power was forged at Inter and Galatasaray, and Masato Morishige, a five-time J.League Best Eleven defender. Urawa answer with Shusaku Nishikawa, past 600 J1 appearances and still starting moves with his left foot. The winger duel between Kota Tawaratsumida and Takuro Kaneko is worth the admission on its own.

Nadeshiko Japan meet Haiti with a squad drawn from Europe and the States

• The defensive group spans generations. Saki Kumagai, a 2011 World Cup winner with Lyon and Bayern Munich on her CV, lines up alongside Toko Koga, born in 2005, who established herself at Feyenoord before moving to Tottenham and being named player of the match on debut. Ayaka Yamashita, small for a goalkeeper at 170cm, keeps the shirt on the strength of her reflexes and distribution.
• The midfield has deepened considerably. Yui Hasegawa combines close control with genuine ball-winning and is among the WSL's best, while Fuka Nagano sets the tempo from the base and drops between the centre-backs to help build. Momoko Tanikawa has emerged at Bayern Munich and Mashin Matsukubo was named the NWSL's midfielder of the year, giving the coaching staff plenty of combinations.
• There is no shortage of finishing up front. Hinata Miyazawa, the 2023 World Cup Golden Boot winner, has a rare sense for space, and Takako Seike marked her WSL debut with a hat-trick. Maika Hamano, who struck the goal that settled the 2026 Asian Cup final, and the explosive Aoba Fujino make this a competitive squad even for a friendly.