Sunday 21 March Montedio Yamagata 1 Urawa Reds 1 Nagoya Grampus 2 Jubilo Iwata 0 Saturday 20 March FC Tokyo 0 Cerezo Osaka 0 Gamba Osaka 0 Albirex Niigata 0 Kyoto Sanga 2 Vegalta Sendai 1 Omiya Ardija 0 Kashima Antlers 1 Shonan Bellmare 1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3 Shimizu S-Pulse 1 Vissel Kobe 0 Yokohama F Marinos 4 Kawasaki Frontale 0 J.League Table Shimizu S-Pulse P 3 Pts 7 Sanfrecce Hiroshima P 3 Pts 7 Kashima Antlers P 3 Pts 7 Yokohama F Marinos P 3 Pts 6 Previous Results J.League News Tags J-League Results

The four play-off games in the European qualification zone were all tight affairs with all left to play for in the second legs. France edged Ireland 1-0 at Croke Park in Dublin with a second half Nicolas Anelka goal. In Lisbon, a Bruno Alves strike gives the Portuguese a slight advantage ahead of the return leg in Sarajevo. There were no goals in Athens as Greece and Ukraine played out a cagey draw. One goal will be enough for either team in Kyev. Look for this one to go to penalties. Russia should have enough quality to avoid defeat Slovenia in Maribor after the hosts won 2-1 on artificial turf in Moscow. Captain Andrey Arshavin pulled the strings for the Russians and a brace by Everton winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov either side of the break looked to have secured Guus Hiddink's team's passage. A late goal from substitute Nejc Pecnik gives the Slovenians hope of reaching their second World Cup finals after an appearance at the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan. In the African zone, Cameroon have qualified for South Africa after an impressive 2-0 win away to Morocco in Fez. Goals from Achille Webo and Inter's Samuel Eto'o mean Paul Le Guen's team now have a record six World Cup appearances - the highest by any African team. The Indomitable Lions will be joined by rivals Nigeria, who will be making their fourth appearance in the finals. Nigeria held on for a 3-2 win in Nairobi. A brace from ex-Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins and a strike from Everton's Yakubu Aiyegbeni were enough to defeat the Kenyans, who had taken the lead with a goal by Dennis Oliech and equalized through Allan Wetende. This result added to Tunisia's 1-0 loss to Mozambique in Maputo means the Super Eagles progress. In an extraordinary game in Cairo, an injury time goal by substitute Emad Moteab means the two North African rivals finished level on points and goal difference in Group C and must play off in Khartoum in Sudan on Wednesday. The build up to the match was marred by an attack on the Algerian team bus by Eqyptian hooligans. In a busy night of international friendlies, England lost 1-0 to Brazil in Doha , Spain beat Argentina 2-1 in a game of seven yellow cards, six of them for Argentina and Italy and the Netherlands drew 0-0 in Pescara. Tags World Cup 2010 football results

Sunday October 25 Kawasaki Frontale 7 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0 Nagoya Grampus 3 Jubilo Iwata 3 Shimizu S-Pulse 1 FC Tokyo 2 Urawa Reds 0 Omiya Ardija 3 Saturday October 24 Gamba Osaka 0 Yokohama F Marinos 0 Kashima Antlers 3 JEF United Chiba 0 Kashiwa Reysol 0 Montedio Yamagata 1 Kyoto Sanga 1 Oita Trinita 1 Vissel Kobe 1 Albirex Niigata 0 Kawasaki Frontale lead the J-League after 30 rounds of the J1 championship following an incredible 7-0 thrashing of Sanfrecce. Antlers are second followed by Gamba and a faltering Shimizu S-Pulse. Urawa Reds are 8th, 9 points adrift of top spot after a 0-3 loss in the Saitama derby. Leading Positions Kawasaki Frontale P30 Pts 55 Kashima Antlers P30 Pts 54 Gamba Osaka P30 Pts 51 Shimizu S-Pulse P30 50 FC Tokyo P30 49 Albirex Niigata P30 Pts 46 Sanfrecce Hiroshima P30 Pts 46 Leading scorers Jubilo Iwata's Ryoichi Maeda has 18 goals so far this season after a hat-trick against Grampus. FC Tokyo's Naohiro Ishikawa has 15. Ryoichi Maeda, Jubilo Iwata 18 Juninho, Kawasaki Frontale 16 Naohiro Ishikawa, FC Tokyo 15 Shinji Okazaki, Shimizu S-Pulse 14 Edmilson, Urawa Reds 13 J-League News & Views Previous J-League results & news Tags J-League Results

Sunday October 18 JEF United Chiba 1 Kyoto Sanga 1 Oita Trinita 2 Shimizu S-Pulse 1 Saturday October 17 Albirex Niigata 0 Urawa Reds 1 FC Tokyo 4 Kashiwa Reysol 0 Jubilo Iwata 0 Kashima Antlers 0 Montedio Yamagata 1 Vissel Kobe 0 Omiya Ardija 2 Kawasaki Frontale 3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2 Gamba Osaka 2 Yokohama F Marinos 2 Nagoya Grampus 1 Kawasaki Frontale now lead the J-League after 29 rounds of the J1 championship. Antlers are second followed by Gamba and Shimizu S-Pulse. Urawa Reds are 8th, 6 points adrift of top spot.

In another tense evening of World Cup qualifiers across the globe, Switzerland and Slovakia qualified from the European zone for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Switzerland played out a nervous 0-0 home draw with 10-man Israel and Slovakia held on for a 1-0 win in Poland. Portugal, Greece, Slovenia and Ukraine took the remaining play off spots. England won 3-0 in their last qualifying match against Belarus in Group 6 with Peter Crouch scoring two. Elsewhere in the the European qualifying zone Italy beat Cyprus 3-2, the Republic of Ireland drew 0-0 with Montenegro at Croke Park. France beat Austria 3-1, Germany drew 1-1 with Finland and Sweden beat Albania 4-1, but miss out on the finals in South Africa.

In an exciting day and evening of World Cup qualifiers across the globe, Côte d'Ivoire, Mexico, Paraguay, Serbia, Denmark, Germany and Italy qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In Europe, England lost their 100% record in Group 6 after goalkeeper Robert Green was dismissed early in the first half and Nazarenko's deflected goal was enough for the hosts in a match marred by flares thrown from the crowd. Elsewhere in the the European qualifying zone Italy grabbed a late 2-2 draw with the Republic of Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin to qualify. Fellow European powerhouse Germany also made it to South Africa with a 1-0 win in Moscow to condemn the Russians to the play-offs.

Sunday September 27 Shimizu S-Pulse 1 Vissel Kobe 0 Urawa Reds 1 Yokohama F Marinos 2 Saturday September 26 FC Tokyo 3 Jubilo Iwata 2 Gamba Osaka 2 Kawasaki Frontale 1 JEF United Chiba 1 Montedio Yamagata 2 Kashima Antlers 1 Nagoya Grampus 4 Kyoto Sanga 1, Omiya Ardija 3 Oita Trinita 0 Kashiwa Reysol 0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1 Albirex Niigata 2 Kashima Antlers remain top of the J-League but now only by a single point as the season approches its traditionally tight finish. Shimizu S-Pulse are second followed by Gamba an Sanfrecce. Urawa Reds' poor season continues and they are now 10 points adrift of top spot.

In Europe, England qualified for the World Cup in South Africa in style from Group 6 with a 5-1 thrashing of Croatia at Wembley. Two goals a piece from Gerrard and Lampard and one from Rooney meant that England qualified with a 100% record so far in their group. Elsewhere in the the European qualifying zone Northern Ireland's hopes of making the tournament took a blow with a 2-0 loss at home to Slovakia. Scotland's hopes were dashed when they crashed 1-0 at Hampden to The Netherlands after a late goal by substitute Elia.

Sunday August 30 Kashiwa Reysol 0 Kyoto Sanga 0 Kawasaki Frontale 1 Shimizu S-Pulse 1 Montedio Yamagata 1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2 Saturday August 29 FC Tokyo 2 Oita Trinita 0 Jubilo Iwata 1 Gamba Osaka 3 Nagoya Grampus 1 Albirex Niigata 0 Omiya Ardija 3 Kashima Antlers 1 Vissel Kobe 3 Urawa Reds 2 Yokohama F Marinos 1 JEF United Chiba 1 Kashima Antlers remain top of the J-League followed by Kawasaki Frontale, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Shimizu S-Pulse. Frontale could only close the gap by one point with a home draw with S-Pulse after Antlers crashed away to Omiya.

Sunday August 23 Gamba Osaka 2 Nagoya Grampus 3 Kashima Antlers 3 FC Tokyo 1 Kawasaki Frontale 2 Montedio Yamagata 0 Saturday August 22 Omiya Ardija 1 JEF United Chiba 1 Albirex Niigata 1 Kyoto Sanga 2 Shimizu S-Pulse 5 Jubilo Iwata 1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2 Urawa Reds 1 Kashiwa Reysol 1 Yokohama F Marinos 1 Kashima Antlers continue to lead the J-League followed by Kawasaki Frontale and Shimizu S-Pulse. Urawa Reds' poor season continues with yet another defeat, this time to promoted Hiroshima.