[Ligue 1]Stade de Reims 2-1 Rennes (September 2nd, Japan time)

Stade de Reims’ Junya Ito (31) started in the home game against Rennes for the third consecutive game. With the score at 0-1, in the 41st minute of the first half, fellow Japanese national team player Keito Nakamura (24) received the ball on the left wing and passed it through to Yaya Fofana. He kept the ball and crossed it, and Ito, who had come in from the far side to the center, headed it in. It was Ito’s long-awaited first goal of the season, a rare header for him.

With the score at 1-1, Ito also had a chance to shine in the third minute of the second half. He dribbled up the right wing, drawing the opposition in, and passed the ball to Aurelio Buta, who was running up the line. He sent a cross in front of the goal with one touch, and Oumar Diakite, who was waiting, shook the net with a spectacular header and successfully turned the game around. Ito’s involvement in two goals contributed to the team’s first win of the season.

After the match, Ito will travel to Japan to participate in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, his first national team activity in about seven months since he left the Asian Cup in February.