
Football: Furuhashi joins Birmingham from Rennes on 3-year deal
The 30-year-old struggled for playing time and scored no goals for Rennes after leaving Celtic for the French Ligue 1 in January and quickly moved on to newly promoted Birmingham, where his compatriot and former Celtic teammate Tomoki Iwata is already on the books.
Furuhashi was prolific at Celtic after joining the Scottish side from Vissel Kobe in the summer of 2021, winning eight domestic titles and scoring 85 goals in 165 games over three-and-a-half seasons.
"I'm very happy to be here," Furuhashi said on Birmingham's official website. "There's a chance that we can go up to the Premier League. We all want to aim for that and after nine months, it will be great if we share the happiness of achieving that."
Celtic, meanwhile, signed 23-year-old defender Hayato Inamura on a four-year deal. The new arrival from Albirex Niigata has taken up the No. 25 shirt previously worn by club and Japan great Shunsuke Nakamura.
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The Mainichi
17 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Football: Furuhashi joins Birmingham from Rennes on 3-year deal
LONDON (Kyodo) -- Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi has joined Birmingham City from Rennes on a three-year deal, the English second-tier Championship side announced Saturday. The 30-year-old struggled for playing time and scored no goals for Rennes after leaving Celtic for the French Ligue 1 in January and quickly moved on to newly promoted Birmingham, where his compatriot and former Celtic teammate Tomoki Iwata is already on the books. Furuhashi was prolific at Celtic after joining the Scottish side from Vissel Kobe in the summer of 2021, winning eight domestic titles and scoring 85 goals in 165 games over three-and-a-half seasons. "I'm very happy to be here," Furuhashi said on Birmingham's official website. "There's a chance that we can go up to the Premier League. We all want to aim for that and after nine months, it will be great if we share the happiness of achieving that." Celtic, meanwhile, signed 23-year-old defender Hayato Inamura on a four-year deal. The new arrival from Albirex Niigata has taken up the No. 25 shirt previously worn by club and Japan great Shunsuke Nakamura.


Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
New Zealand survive 'hell of a test' against inexperienced France
New Zealand's Will Jordan scores a try during the first international rugby Test match between New Zealand and France at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin By Ben STRANG All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson conceded his team had been in "a hell of a test match" after edging past an under-strength France 31-27 in Dunedin. Will Jordan scored two tries to secure a tense 500th test victory for New Zealand, who desperately held off an energetic France side fielding eight debutants in the dying minutes to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. "Test footy," explained Robertson about how a France squad that had been derided in New Zealand as a "B-team" almost caused a monumental upset. "Any French team that's on tour that's written off... it's going to put up a scrap and fight for everything," he said. "France didn't go away. It was a hell of a test match." Of the 42 players France brought on tour to New Zealand, 20 were uncapped. The inexperience had some former players suggesting France would face a drubbing in Dunedin, and that they had disrespected the game by not bringing a stronger squad. But right from the start, France were sharp and took the game to the All Blacks. New Zealand plans were upset in the first minute when wing Sevu Reece was dazed in a tackle and helped from the field with a head injury. It forced a reshuffle that clearly rattled the All Blacks as playmaker Damian McKenzie came off the bench to play fullback and No. 15 Jordan moved to the right wing. The young French side took the lead from a penalty goal in the seventh minute and extended it to 10 points soon after when No. 8 Mickael Guillard crossed next to the posts. The home side's response was swift. Jordan scored his first of the night on the end of a pinpoint Beauden Barrett cut-out pass. Tupou Vai'i gave New Zealand the lead for the first time moments later, crashing under the posts. When Jordie Barrett scored a try just before half-time, diving like a slip fielder to catch a Jordan pass on the right wing before finding his feet and plopping over, it seemed like the hosts might run away with the game. But France, who had slotted another penalty, would not lie down and hit back almost immediately from the second-half kickoff. Rieko Ioane, playing on the wing for the first time in four years, bobbled the restart, allowing France good territory and Gabin Villiere scored. All Blacks captain Scott Barrett gathered his team for an emergency pep talk having seen the lead cut to a whisker at 21-20. "I think it was words of reassurance, really, that we were creating opportunities," Barrett said. "I think in those moments you can easily slip away and potentially get frustrated. "It's certainly a mental trap that we could fall into, but I was pleased with the way the boys hung in there, and I guess the French sort of hung in there as well." Jordan scored his second of the match -- his 40th Test try -- to restore an eight-point advantage but again France wouldn't give in. Replacement Jacobus Van Tonder broke the All Blacks line and fell just short of the posts, allowing Cameron Woki to cross off the back. France were reduced to 14 after try-scorer Villiere was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-down, but New Zealand could not capitalise on their numerical advantage. Billy Proctor and Jordan had tries disallowed for a knock-on and obstruction respectively, as the television match official drew loud boos from the capacity crowd. A Beauden Barrett penalty extended the lead to 31-27 with six minutes remaining but France immediately gained territory as they searched for the winning try with the clock ticking down. A knock-on with 90 seconds remaining allowed the All Blacks to regain precious possession and they hung on to secure a hard-fought victory. © 2025 AFP


Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Chelsea advances to Club World Cup semifinals with 2-1 win over Palmeiras
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez reacts at the end of the Club World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Palmeiras and Chelsea in Philadelphia, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) soccer By DAN GELSTON Chelsea scored the go-ahead goal on Malo Gusto's 83rd-minute shot that went in after a pair of deflections, beating Palmeiras 2-1 on Friday night for a spot in the Club World Cup semifinals. Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead in the 16th minute but Estêvão, an 18-year-old who will transfer to Chelsea this summer, tied the score against his future club with an angled shot in the 53rd. Gusto's shot following a short corner kick appeared to deflect off defender Agustin Giay and goalkeeper Weverton and sent the Chelsea portion of 65,782 fans into a frenzy. FIFA credited Weverton with an own goal. Chelsea won't travel far for its next match, facing Fluminense on Tuesday at East Rutherford, New Jersey. Hércules came off the bench and scored in the 70th minute to lift Fluminense past Al Hilal 2-1 in Friday's earlier quarterfinal. With Chelsea's win, three of the four semifinal teams will be from Europe, with one from Brazil. The 23-year-old Palmer scored his first goal in the Club World Cup, and showed why he's widely considered one of the top attacking midfielders. He took a pass from Trevoh Chalobah and slipped the ball inside the far post. Fans made it to Lincoln Financial Field on a holiday weekend that included a strike by nearly 10,000 city workers in Philadelphia, competition from an earlier Phillies game, and a concert and fireworks show near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. FIFA had slashed tickets to as low as $11.15. FIFA president Gianni Infantino attended the game, the eighth of the tournament at the home of NFL Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. There was a pregame pregame tribute for Liverpool player Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, who were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed and burst into flames on an isolated stretch of highway. Chelsea forward Liam Delap and defender Levi Colwill each got their second yellow cards of the tournament and will be suspended for the semifinal. Chelsea also played without captain Reece James, who was removed from the starting lineup due to injury. Estêvão agreed to a deal with Chelsea last summer that moved him to Chelsea after he turned 18. Estêvão huddled up with his future teammates — including Palmer — and received some friendly postgame encouragement. 'It's good to be the last English team and hopefully we can win it. There was a lot of fans tonight. More than usual than we've played. So it was nice.' — Palmer. 'Tonight will be a very difficult night to sleep because we'll feel like we could've done something different.' — Weverton. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.