Challenge a head-to-head match with our own soccer and aim for a spot in the semifinal round!

　The Emperor's Cup quarterfinals will be against Urawa Reds. In the 4th round match against Mito, they were able to secure a victory with only one own goal, showing their tenacity and keeping a clean sheet. Although they were struggling with Mito's ball possession, Kanda reflected, "It was a different situation from the league matches, but we were able to withstand it. It may have also been a good preparation for the match against Urawa." They aim to reach the semifinals for the second consecutive year.

　Urawa, on the other hand, finished 15th in the J1 league with 36 points. They barely managed to survive the relegation battle, but in the 2nd round of the Emperor's Cup, they faced Verdy, and in the 3rd round, they faced Ehime FC. They have shown their strength as a J1 team against J2 teams and have made it this far. In addition, their motivation for this tournament should be high in order to overcome their bitter experiences in the league. Above all, as Urawa players' individual abilities have been highly praised by coach Okuma and Tokyo players, their attacking power is also a major threat.

　Tokyo will face the 4th round with the same members. Coach Okuma said, "Kajiyama gained confidence by playing without any worries for 90 minutes. Including Nao, there is a sense of freshness and fulfillment." He wants to use a solid block to defend and aggressively attack, switching quickly to win. Especially in terms of physicality and intensity, if we lose in the battle for the ball, we may be put in a disadvantageous position. That's why we want to emphasize "recklessness" more than ever before.

　In the match against Urawa, Tokyo has not won since the 2004 Nabisco Final Round. However, there is no need to be afraid or lament about past bad results. As Imakano says, "We want to continue trying to break down the opponent's weaknesses by moving and taking advantage of our own rhythm without losing the ball easily," and challenge head-on with an even more evolved approach this season. We will fight with our current style of soccer and go for the win. The match started at 13:04 with Urawa's kickoff at Kumagaya Athletic Stadium.

After taking the lead with Ishikawa's goal, they were unable to score any additional points due to lack of precision and the first half ended.

　Urawa, who tried to take the lead from the start, calmly entered the game. They pressed hard, took the ball, and passed it forward. In the 7th minute, Yuuha intercepted the ball in the midfield and passed it to the area. Lucas got into a shooting position, but he didn't have enough momentum to compete with the opponent and the GK caught the ball. After this play, Urawa's left-back, Nao Yamada, was substituted due to injury, and the rhythm was created through the right side with Ishikawa and Tokunaga.

　11 minutes, Lucas makes a move in the center and Hanyu takes a middle shot from the DF's loose ball. However, it's just above the bar. In the 13th minute, from a right throw-in in their own half, Lucas passes to the back of the opponent's DF with one touch. Ishikawa breaks through here, dribbles up and takes a shot with good timing, but it's just to the left... In the 16th minute, Tokunaga makes a powerful advance with a dribble. He exchanges passes with Ishikawa on the outside and sends a cross, but they are unable to connect in the middle.

　At the 20-minute mark, Lucas made a move from the left side and received a pass from Tanihara, then boldly took a shot from the center of the goal. The shot was controlled and went into the top left corner! Last year in the Emperor's Cup quarterfinals, Ishikawa scored a game-winning goal with a beautiful mid-range shot. After that, they continued to attack while connecting passes, but their coordination and accuracy in the front line were slightly lacking. They maintained their 1-0 lead going into halftime.

Defending against the opponent's fierce attacks with high concentration, and achieving a victory against Urawa for the first time since 2004!

　In the 48th minute of the second half, from a quick restart, Ishikawa's cross was dropped by Lucas in the center to Tanihara on the far side, but this pass was slightly off and a great chance was missed. In the 51st minute, a counterattack was launched from the opponent's mistake, and from Takahashi → Hanyu → Ishikawa's cross, Lucas timed it perfectly and took a superb shot, but it went wide. In the 54th minute, Hanyu made a move from a right throw-in and earned a right corner kick. Ishikawa's kick was cleared once, but another right cross was made. Morishige headed it, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.

　But if you miss the chance, then afterwards, Urawa will dominate the ball and push you back. In the 67th minute, right MF Umazaki flew out to the right front line and took a shot from the goal line, but Gonda caught it firmly. In the 71st minute, Marcio Richardes easily passed through the press of Tokyo DF and made a through pass to the front line. Substitute FW Takasaki broke through and took a shot, but Gonda quickly reacted and caught it.

　Despite being pushed back for a long period of time, the defense held strong and did not allow any goals. In addition, after the 75th minute, Urawa created multiple scoring opportunities in the box, but Mokuhara, Konno, and Takahashi all put their bodies on the line to prevent any danger, along with Kanda's quick reactions. In the final minutes, Urawa continued to attack fiercely, but the team remained focused and successfully defended the valuable goal scored by Ishikawa, securing a spot in the semifinal round! They will face C Osaka at 1 PM on the 29th (Thursday) at Osaka Nagai Stadium.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"There was an accident with Urawa's left fullback, and I felt that the balance was a bit off from there. So first of all, I made sure to run to the back more than usual, and the ball was coming there, so I kept aiming for it. As for the goal, it was in the form of receiving in the center...but there is also the center, the side, and the back, so I think I was able to play with a good balance. I had the image of shooting from the first touch. When I received it from Lukon before that, I also thought about turning and aiming, but I had the image that if I returned the ball once, it would lead to another chance."

　It was a shape that I had been trying repeatedly even in practice, and everyone had an image of that play, and the combination was good. Usually, I use the inside from the side... but I thought it was important for me to keep entering that area. I didn't have the luxury of aiming for the frame with my shot, but I could see the position of the goal, so I kicked it thinking about placing it there. I was able to calmly and positively release my power when I kicked it.

　《Gonda》"As a way to start the game, there was also a feeling of being too aggressive. Nyu-san and Rukon, both sides pressed from the front, and Kaji-kun also went back and forth vigorously... I was a little worried about fighting with that much physical activity, but it was a big deal to be able to do it in the first half. So in the second half, it was expected that Urawa would push us back. It was valuable to be able to defend together and win, and to overcome a difficult situation both mentally and physically through our play."

　 (There were many good saves, but?) That's because the defense players closed the angles. There shouldn't have been any shots from a lot of open courses from the front. After that, it's my job. That's all I did, that's the feeling. But we want to continue that first half soccer for 90 minutes. If we can do it as long as possible, I think the chances of winning will increase.

　[Summary of Coach Ooguma's Press Conference] "Regarding the first half, we were able to do too much, including the intention of putting Nao in, and we had a lot of energy and were able to move the ball well. If we can do that for 90 minutes, it was a first half where the team's strength really came together. In the second half, I had a feeling that it wouldn't go as well as the first half. Even in that situation, we were able to show the tenacious defense we cultivated in J2, but I felt that it would be necessary for the team to raise our common understanding, such as calmly supporting and passing in the midfield, and taking the ball from the counter to score the second goal, in the upcoming two Emperor's Cup matches and when we go to J1."

　Although we did our best in terms of patience, it is still difficult to defend the remaining Emperor's Cup and J1 in that situation. We have little time, but we want to correct the issues we have mentioned and fight the remaining two games as a team in a way that shows results. FC Tokyo has no history of playing on New Year's Day, so we want to switch our focus and concentrate on the next game so that we can play soccer on January 1st."

　[Urawa Hori's press conference summary] "Both the players and myself really wanted to win this game, but unfortunately, this is the result we ended up with. FC Tokyo is a tough team, having gone through a lot in J2. Congratulations on the win and I hope they continue to do well in future games. As for the game, the players did a great job expressing what we have been working on and our intentions, but it didn't translate into a win."

　Players are running well and I am grateful. Despite doing what we aimed for, we ended up with this result and I feel my own lack of ability. (What was the reason for the first half not going well?) In the first half, it was the starting point of our attack, or rather our defensive line, and we felt some pressure and couldn't bring the ball to where we wanted it to be. I think that was the biggest issue. We felt the pressure. I think that was the problem."