Three national teams, including the super-emergency ace, are on the verge of relegation for the first time due to an unexpected day in Japanese soccer. → Shock-ending crisis theory spreads

May 21, 2025

Three national teams, including the super-emergency ace, are on the verge of relegation for the first time due to an unexpected day in Japanese soccer. → Shock-ending crisis theory spreads
Sportschosun DB



As Stade Reims, where many Japanese national team players play, is on the verge of relegation, a sense of crisis is spreading in Japanese soccer.

On the 18th (Korea time), Japan Football Zone said 'The prestigious club, which includes three Japanese national team players, is on the verge of relegation to the second division. Junya Ito made an effort to record help, but in the midst of a shocking ending, he ended up heading to the promotion and playoffs,' he said, shedding light on the crisis theory facing the Japanese national team.

Reims was confirmed to be 16th in the league after losing 1-2 to LOSC Lille in the final match of the French League 1 in 2024-2025 season on the 18th. Reims, ranked 16th in the league, has to play in the promotion play-offs. The opponent team was confirmed as the Mets, who ranked third in the French League 2.
Three national teams, including the super-emergency ace, are on the verge of relegation for the first time due to an unexpected day in Japanese soccer. → Shock-ending crisis theory spreads
Sportschosun DB
If Reims is relegated to the Mets, there will be a big loss to Japanese soccer. Currently, three national team players are playing in Reims, including Junya Ito, the core of the Japanese national team, Keito Nakamura and Hiroki Sekine.




Ito is an indispensable player in Japan's national team as he has one goal and seven assists in eight games in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. The same goes for Nakamura. Nakamura, who has been called by the Japanese national team since 2023, has been in the Japanese national team since the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. He has recently played in six of the eight A matches in Japan, raising his stock price. Sekine is not yet the mainstay of the Japanese national team, but he is a prospect who is recognized as Japan's future when he was selected for the first time in March.

If all three players are relegated to League 2, it may be difficult to escape from the team easily. In general, when a team is demoted, all the main players are sold off, and Reims may not try to sell key players with a strong will to promote.

Or they may not even be able to leave the team because they are not interested in the transfer market as they think. Nakamura, who showed promise by scoring 11 league goals, will try to take him from a different team enough, but the other two players' situation is not very good.




In the case of Ito, his performance was lower than in the last two seasons, with only four league goals and five assists as the main player of Reims. Sekine joined in the middle of this season and played as a main player, but it is difficult to evaluate that his adaptation in Europe is perfect yet. There is still hope of staying, but for Japan, it is bound to be worried.
Three national teams, including the super-emergency ace, are on the verge of relegation for the first time due to an unexpected day in Japanese soccer. → Shock-ending crisis theory spreads
Sportschosun DB
Ahead of the World Cup next summer, it is naturally a loss for the national team to spend one season in the second division.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.