The 2024 J1 season – summary of the first four rounds
The 2024 J1 season promises to be as exciting as the previous campaign in the top level of Japanese football was. The action already started and below we’ll share with you our most exciting topics after the first four rounds have been played.
We’ll also try to give you our predictions of what might transpire in the next set of four rounds in J1.
The 2024 J1 season summary for rounds 1 to 4
The new J1 season has only started but we already noticed some things worth sharing.
Do Machida Zelvia know they moved up a division?
The 2023 J2 champions Machida Zelvia achieved promotion in a very convincing style last season. Still, nobody expected them to look like the real deal four rounds into their first-ever J1 season.
Machida top the standings after four games and they are the only team to win three of their first four matches – W3 D1. Can the newly-promoted team from Tokyo keep up the pace?
Dark clouds are gathering fast over Hokkaido
The proud representative of the island of Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo look in trouble. Just after four rounds into the 2024 J1 season Sapporo are one of only two teams yet to record a win and they sit in last place with a single point earned.
The issues so far had been at both ends of the pitch. Scored only one goal in those four matches, while at the same time conceded seven.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima the defensive kings
Sanfrecce Hiroshima are unbeaten after four games (W2 D2) and this is hardly surprising. Hiroshima have the best defensive record in the entire J1 so far. They conceded a single goal in their opening four games.
The 2024 J1 season – the individuals that caught our eye
Despite the 2024 J1 season being only four rounds old we’ve already seen some exciting individual achievements. We feel compelled to share them with you next.
Is Ryo Germain Jubilo’s answer?
One of the other newly-promoted teams Jubilo Iwata haven’t been great as a team so far. However, their 28-year-old striker Ryo Germain scored five goals in the first four rounds.
Nobody expected from Germain this. In his previous five seasons at J1 level, he scored 11 goals combined. Can Germain keep up this pace and become the frontrunner for the J1 season Golden Boot award?
Is Keisuke Osako the best Japanese goalkeeper right now?
We already told you that Hiroshima conceded a single goal in the first four rounds. This means that their 24-year-old goalkeeper Keisuke Osako has kept three clean sheets already.
Osako also kept consecutive clean sheets when on goal for Japan this month. He also finished the 2023 J1 season with shutdowns in seven of the last nine rounds. Is Osako about to become the undisputed number one for the Samurai Blues for years to come?
Are we witnessing Akito Suzuki’s breakthrough season?
Shonan Bellmare’s 20-year-old striker Akito Suzuki has made a flying start to the 2024 J1 season. The youngster already netted three goals in the first four rounds.
Suzuki made his J1 debut back in 2022 and over the last two seasons scored three goals in 33 appearances. He already equalled that tally and looks determined to have his breakthrough year in 2024.
The 2024 J1 season: Our predictions for the next four rounds
Let’s see what might happen in the next four rounds of the 2024 J1 season.
Machida Zellvia to drop out of the top 3
The current leaders Machida are still excited to be playing in their first-ever top-flight campaign. However, as the rounds keep coming we expect this excitement to fade away. That’s why we think a few more weeks into the 2024 J1 season Machida will no longer be among the top 3 teams in the standings.
Urawa Reds to move in the top 6 positions
After four rounds Urawa sit only in 12th place with a W1 D2 L1 record. They have a kind schedule over the next four rounds though so we expect them to improve sharply their table position in the coming weeks.