Match Review
The opening match of the Meiji Yasuda J1 Century Vision League is against Kashima Antlers. The home Ajinomoto Stadium, where snow was falling even before kickoff, welcomed the 2025 season league champion team.
The Tokyo starting members aiming for the championship have Kim Seung-gyu at the back, with the final line-up from the right consisting of Sei MUROYA, Alexander SCHOLZ, Hayato INAMURA, and Yuto NAGATOMO. The defensive midfield duo is Takahiro KO and Kouta TOKIWA, who is in his second professional season. Keisuke SATO is positioned as the right side midfielder, Keita ENDO on the left, and at the front line, Marcelo RYAN and Motoki NAGAKURA form the two forwards.
1stHALF—Endo's free kick goal was immediately equalized
Amid strong winds and snow blowing fiercely, neither side was able to create a clear scoring chance from kickoff, and time steadily passed. Among them, Tokyo was the first to create a decisive opportunity. In the 40th minute of the first half, Tokiwara advanced to the left side, and Nagatomo overlapped outside Endo and delivered a cross ball. Marcelo RYAN controlled it, and Endo, who had entered the center, swung his left foot. However, this shot failed to hit the target.
It was just one minute later. Marcelo RYAN stole the ball in the opponent's territory, and Kashima Antlers' Misao player couldn't help but block his way with a foul. This was judged as stopping a clear scoring opportunity, resulting in a dismissal, giving Tokyo a numerical advantage.
And then, the first goal of the 2026 season is scored. A free kick opportunity gained slightly in front of the goal. After Inamura's feint, Endo calmly directs a low, bending ball into the lower right corner of the goal, allowing Tokyo to take the lead.
However, it was immediately after that. They conceded a corner kick from the left side to Kashima, which led to a scramble in front of the goal, and Tae Hyeon KIM pushed it in to equalize. It seemed they had taken an early lead just before the end of the first half, but the immediate concession made it 1-1, and the match went into the decisive second half.
2ndHALF—Numerical advantage but unable to break the goal, opening victory in the penalty shootout
In the second half, Tokyo took advantage of their numerical superiority to seize control and continued to press towards the Kashima goal. However, Kashima also countered by exploiting Tokyo's forward-leaning stance with counterattacks.
As the match became deadlocked, both benches made moves in the 19th minute of the second half. Kashima substituted Elber for Hayashi. Tokyo replaced Endo and Hian with Fuki YAMADA and Ryunosuke SATO, sending them onto the pitch.
At the 25th minute of the second half, when the opponent was connecting from a goal kick, Nagakura seized the ball without missing the mistake and aimed for the goal after the goalkeeper rushed out, but Ueda, who came in to cover the goal, cleared it right in front of the goal.
At the 32nd minute of the second half, both benches make changes again. Kashima substitutes Araki and Ogawa for Higuchi and Koike. Tokyo sends Kento HASHIMOTO and Kento HASHIMOTO onto the pitch, replacing Tokiwa and Nagatomo.
After that, substitute player Ryu Sato and Kento HASHIMOTO actively swung their legs aiming for a goal, but they could not score the winning goal. Both sides lacked a decisive strike, and the 5 minutes of additional time ended. To determine the winning team, the match proceeded to a penalty shootout.
The third successful kick from both sides led to Kashima's fourth kicker, Koike, whose shot was saved by Kim Seung-gyu diving to the right. Meanwhile, Tokyo's all five players succeeded, starting the special tournament's opening match with a victory over the 2025 season league champion team.
"Since the special tournament includes a penalty shootout, I want to help the team and contribute to victory there," said the guardian of the blue and red, who became a hero by putting his words into action.
Match detailed data is here
Interview with Manager Rikizo MATSUHASHI
Q. First, please give an overall evaluation of the match.
AConsidering the regulations of this tournament, I think it was good that we were able to firmly accumulate 2 points in the end. However, this was originally a match we should have finished with 3 points. There was a bit of leniency, or rather, in terms of decisively winning at critical moments, I believe there were many things we still need to learn from Kashima Antlers.
Q. An opposing player was sent off near the end of the first half. In the second half, you had one player more; how did you try to take advantage of that situation?
AWe were also somewhat aware of the opponent's formation. First, we aimed to firmly create a numerical advantage from the outside, then target the gaps in the opponent's organization caused by their sliding defense through runs from the second line, breaking them down. We also focused on picking up loose balls from crosses to connect to second and third attacks. Including risk management, we fully understood what the opponent might do, so we planned to proceed with the match while maintaining a good balance.
While conveying to the substitute players what was lacking in the flow, I communicated messages to the team and consciously aimed to finish it off in the end, making substitutions one after another. Unfortunately, I believe that not being able to break through the opponent's goal remains a major issue.
Q, Today you selected Kyota Tokiwa as a starting member. Please tell us the intention behind that and your evaluation of him.
A, regarding his deployment, it has been the same since the Okinawa Itoman camp, and he has maintained very good form since the start of this season. That is the main reason he was selected. Even evaluating his performance today, it was very good. Compared to previous rehearsals, he showed even better aspects, including more offensive play. However, as the number of opponents decreased, the space for him to break through disappeared. Since he has not experienced many such battles in actual matches, I believe he must have had his own thoughts about it. Even so, although this was not his debut match, I think he delivered a very good performance for the first game of the new season.
Player Interview
Keita ENDO
Q: Since it is the opening match, what kind of feelings did you have going into it?
A, I think it was good that the opening match was against Kashima Antlers, as it provided an opportunity to showcase what we have built up during camp and practice. However, when it comes to whether we were able to fully demonstrate what we had prepared, I believe there were moments where we were somewhat hesitant or nervous. There were also times when we couldn't get into the flow of the game, or the ball didn't stick to our feet. While the tension of the opening match was understandable, I think this is an area that needs improvement.
Q. Since the opponent is Kashima Antlers, who won the league last season, was there anything you were particularly conscious of or any instructions from the coach?
A, we have always said that in order to aim for the championship ourselves, since Kashima won last season and we have to surpass them, they are a good opponent in that sense. In our meetings, we were shown footage of Kashima winning, and we were told that next time it will be us in that position. Today, I think it was definitely a match where we had to take all three points. However, despite Kashima catching up and the match being decided by a penalty shootout, we did not lose to Kashima's fighting spirit or momentum, and ultimately winning is a positive factor.
Q, please review your goal scene.
A, I scored my first free kick in my life (laughs). The opposing goalkeeper was Tomoki HAYAKAWA, last season's J.League MVP, and since he is such a great player, I thought a normal shot wouldn't go in. Rather, I was able to kick with a more refined sense, and it went exactly where I aimed. Even though it was my first free kick goal ever, I was sad that I wasn't the one in the hero interview...
Q, The next match is also in a week, a home game at Ajinomoto Stadium against Urawa Reds.
A, I believe it is important to earn the 3 points, so I want to aim for victory. Personally, I think I have a good match-up against Urawa Reds. Watching the final stages of today's game, there were moments where we could advance to the goal area but struggled to finish with a shot, so I think it is even more important to keep striking the ball.
Q, It was in the snow, but many fans and supporters came rushing to the venue.
During the penalty shootout, I felt that the opposing team put a lot of pressure on us and showed great intensity, so I truly appreciate that. Next time, I want to work hard to deliver 3 points.
Player Seung-gyu Kim
Q, Please review the moment when you stopped the penalty kick.
A,We had analyzed and prepared for the players who were with Kashima Antlers last season, but that player was rarely the kicker. That said, there was a chance to stop up to the fourth player, so that is disappointing. Personally, I feel I could have done a bit more rather than it being perfect.
Q,Did you decide to dive to the right?
A,From the kicker's motion before kicking, I thought it would be to the right, so I watched that and decided to dive there.
Q,Looking back over the entire match,we wanted to secure the win within 90 minutes.
A,There were both good and bad aspects throughout the match, but it would have been better if we had sealed the game when the opponent had a player sent off. However, since today was the first game of the season, securing a solid win was a significant achievement, I believe.
Q,Do you feel that conceding a goal immediately after scoring remains an issue?
A,It was very disappointing to concede right after scoring, but I thought I would try to take control once the game was paused. However, the game restarted immediately before it was stopped, and we conceded a goal. I want to use this experience to ensure we don't repeat the same mistake in the next match.
Q,Although it is 2 points, how do you want to build on the victory against Kashima, the league champions from last season, in the opening match?2?
A,There may be matches throughout the season where we can't secure a win like this one, but regarding today, I want to think positively about earning 2 points against Kashima and approach the next match with determination.
Q,It was heavy snow at the start of the match, but have you ever played in such heavy snow before?
A,When I was with Kashiwa Reysol, I experienced a match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima in even heavier snow than this. At that time, the grass was covered so much that it turned completely white.
Q,Was there any difficulty in seeing the ball due to obstructed vision?
A,As you said, it was a bit difficult to look ahead, and since the wind was blowing towards us, that also made it somewhat hard to see.
Player Hayato Inamura
Q. I stood on the pitch at Ajinomoto Stadium, wearing the red and blue colors I had admired.
A, since they were all familiar chants, I felt more nostalgic than like it was my first time.
Q. It was a penalty shootout, but we were able to finish with a victory.
A, of course we wanted to secure the win within 90 minutes, and since the opponent had 10 players, I felt that even more. I believed that finishing the game with a win is necessary for this team, and in that sense, I think we made a good start.
Q: Since it was the opening match, I think it was a solid game, but what aspects are important to improve the content further from here?
A, I believe it is important to keep going, and including myself, I think each player still has room to improve their condition from here. We focus on the quality of practice, and I think there were many scoring opportunities today as well, so I want to make sure we improve on finishing those chances properly.
Q. You showed characteristics of build-up play, but you couldn't break through.
A, I felt it is important to get behind the opponent more. When they defend compactly, it becomes difficult, so I think it is necessary to stretch the opponent by skillfully using long balls and exploit their weak points.
Q. Is the goal conceded today a challenge for the next match?
A, I believe set plays alone can decide the outcome of a match, and since it was right after a goal, it was really unfortunate. We need to work on improving that more in practice.
Q. How would you rate your overall performance?
A, I only feel frustrated because I was not good at all. I think more stability is needed, and frankly, I felt that the center-back players who played in today's match, including the opponents, were at a higher level. I need to improve all aspects of my game, both offense and defense. I also think my passing accuracy was still low compared to before, and more than that, I feel there are more issues in defense. I want to become someone who makes others think, 'If Inamura is there, we can defend.'
There were parts where I played a bit nervously, but in the first half, there was a moment when I was able to make a good pass to Yuto NAGATOMO, and I was also able to go boldly to break up plays. The yellow card was my mistake, but I believe I can still do better.
Q. How did it feel to compete in an official match against a J1 League club for the first time in a while?
A, since it was my first time in half a year, there were moments when I felt like I wasn't quite grounded, but I gradually got used to it. Including that, I believe my condition can still improve a lot, and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead. After the match, I talked with Alexander SCHOLZ about how "we can still raise our quality," and I’ve also had detailed discussions about adjustments with other players, so I think it’s important to keep going. I believe both SCHOLZ and I are players who can advance the ball forward, so depending on the situation, we can try various ways to break down the opponent. Of course, the upcoming matches won’t be against the same opponents, so I think it’s important to be flexible and adapt accordingly.
Q, You were able to stand on the same pitch as Kouta Tokiwa, who was your teammate at FC Tokyo U-15 Fukagawa, both in the starting lineup for the opening match.
A, I am simply happy. We were talking about this together even during the camp, so we were able to make it happen. However, I believe the people who have supported us since the Fukagawa days are even happier, and we want to respond to their feelings together.
Q, from here on, it's a battle for both of you again.
A, I was able to participate today, but there are many experienced players. We ourselves are not yet experienced players, so we want to grow by going through various experiences one by one and face this competition for positions.
