Achieving revenge from last year, a battle that leads to the second half of the league

　In preparation for the league's restart in August, a preseason match will be held. Continuing from last year, we will face FC Seoul from the Korean K League, and this year we will host them at home. Tokyo will start training on the 21st (Saturday) and will have five days of adjustments. Although Japan national team players Konno and Inoha, who will compete in the Asian Cup, will be absent, we cannot afford to lose at home this year after last year's defeat of 0 to 3 on their turf. Additionally, with a limit of 22 players on the bench and a maximum of 6 substitutions, there are high expectations for the performance of players who have had fewer appearances in matches so far.

　FC Seoul is a strong team that won the league cup last year. This season, they are led by former Turkey national team coach, Coach Gunes. Young players are emerging, and they have representatives from various age groups, aiming for an aggressive style of football that combines the unique strength of Korean soccer with a focus on maintaining possession through passing.

　However, in this season's K League, they have struggled due to the absence of key player FW Park Chu-young due to injury, with a record of 3 wins, 8 draws, and 3 losses (8th out of 14 teams). They have scored only 7 goals in 14 matches, but have also conceded just 7, showcasing a solid defense. Today, the key DF Kim Jigon is absent for the Asian Cup, but the DF line will feature Park Yong-ho and Lee Jong-yul, who represented at the Athens Olympics, while the left-back position will be filled by Ahn Tae-woong, who is aiming for the Beijing Olympics.

　The key player in the attack is the tall FW Jeon JIWAN (candidate for the South Korea national team in 2002, and part of the national team in 2006 and 2007. He faced Japan in the 2003 World Youth Championship, playing against players like Konno, Hirayama, Noriyuki SUZUKI, and Tokunaga). He scored a goal in last year's match and is a key player. Additionally, caution is needed against the Portuguese MF Ricardo. The starting lineup features FW Jeon JIWAN at the forefront, MF Ricardo in the attacking midfield, FW Lee SAHYUP on the left, MF Ko MYEONGJIN on the right, with MF Lee WOOYONG and MF Kim DONGSOOK serving as double defensive midfielders.

　The key point is whether Tokyo can effectively contain the attack of FC Seoul, which has a lineup of lively players, and break through their solid defense. We hope for a battle that leads into the second half of the league. However, injured Noriyuki SUZUKI has been left out of the squad for precautionary reasons. Morimura will start on the left side, and Tadashi BABA will play as the attacking midfielder.

　The match started at 19:05 with a kickoff in Tokyo at the Japan National Stadium after the rain. There was no wind on the pitch, and the humidity made it so muggy that sweat poured out even while standing still.

Although dominated by Seoul, we counterattacked with a quick transition

　From the beginning, Seoul dominated possession of the ball. However, Tokyo defended calmly and did not allow any decisive chances. They quickly transitioned to counterattack. In the 11th minute, Fukunishi lost control on the slippery pitch, leading to a ball for Seoul. MF Lee Woo-Young made a vertical pass to FW Jung Joogook, but Shigenobu defended persistently, forcing a corner kick. In the 13th minute, Morimura made a quick decision to send an early cross, earning a right corner kick. Fukunishi headed the ball from Baba's corner kick, but it went over the bar. In the 18th minute, Baba connected a short corner kick to Ishikawa, received the return, and shot. The ball flew to the lower right corner of the goal, but the opposing GK made a save.

　In the 21st minute, quickly switching from defense to attack, Ishikawa surged up the right side. His bold shot was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. Lucas persisted with the rebound, and Kanazawa took a long shot from the clearance by the opposing defense, but it went wide. In the 22nd minute, starting from their own half, Kanazawa passed to Fukunishi, who dribbled forward to Tokunaga on the right. From there, the cross was met by Ishikawa in the center with a precise header! The ball hit Morimura and shook the net. However, due to a handball foul by Morimura, it did not result in a goal, but they created a chance from a fast attack starting from the side.

　After that, there were mistakes on both sides, and the game was back and forth. Asari and Lucas made several attacks from side changes and quick counters. In the 32nd minute, Asari passed to Ishikawa, and Tokunaga advanced from the outside, delivering a ground cross. Baba jumped in the center, and Lucas was positioned at the far post, but the opposing defender cleared the ball. In the 34th minute, Shigenobu failed to receive a pass from Fujiyama, and Seoul's FW John HIGASHI stole the ball, threatening the goal. Although a shot was taken due to his own mistake, he somehow managed to block it with his body.

　In the 37th minute, Fukunishi stole the ball in the opponent's half and immediately took a shot. However, it went wide. Shortly after, from a pass by Seoul MF Ricardo, FW Lee Sang-hyup shot from the right area. Asari cut it off, but the ball was picked up again and entered the area, but they managed to defend it. In the 38th minute, Fukunishi cut the ball again in the opponent's half. He quickly sent a through pass to Ishikawa, who broke through but was offside. Tokyo applied pressure to regain possession, but they lacked precision in the subsequent play and could not seize control. The match went into halftime at 0-0.

Substitutes launch a speedy attack, but fail to score.

　After the start of the second half, Shiota replaced Dohi, and in the 52nd minute, Kawaguchi came on for Ishikawa and Baba, followed by Akamine. However, both teams began to show signs of fatigue in the heat, leading to a struggle for possession in midfield. There were prolonged periods where neither team could bring the ball to the finish. In the 61st minute, Kawaguchi intercepted the opponent's ball, dribbled from right to left, connected with Akamine, and approached the goal, but Kawaguchi was caught offside. From there, they were counterattacked and breached on the right side by Tokyo. A right cross came in, and the tall substitute forward Shim Woo-young took a shot. However, the Tokyo defense closed in, and the floating ball was firmly caught by Shiota.

　In the 65th minute, Ikegami replaced Fukunishi, and in the 68th minute, Rychely came on for Morimura. Kawaguchi and Rychely launched an attack utilizing their speed from the sides. In the 72nd minute, Ikegami passed to Kanazawa, who made a fierce dribble into the left area, resulting in a corner kick. From there, Tokunaga connected with a cross. Asahri aimed for a ground shot from the rebound, but the opposing defender blocked it. In the 76th minute, Seoul's FW John HIGASHI was replaced by MF Ricardo, who returned the ball to the right area with a heel pass. FW John HIGASHI broke free and sent a cross in front of the goal, but Shiota made the save.

　At the 79th minute, Hirayama was brought on to replace Lucas. Gradually, the lines stretched out, leading to a series of counterattacks, but Seoul's counterattack was held back mainly by Moniwa and Fujiyama, allowing for a counteroffensive. Up front, Akamine and Hirayama became the focal points, maintaining pressure on Seoul. At the 83rd minute, Akamine headed a shot from Kawaguchi's right cross. At the 86th minute, Hirayama connected from Akamine's post, and finally Kawaguchi delivered a cross, creating a good attacking opportunity, but they couldn't connect in the center. At the 88th minute, from Rychely's left corner kick, Kawaguchi advanced into the left area by following up on the rebound. He sent a sharp grounded cross, but the opposing defender blocked it. In stoppage time, Ikegami boldly stepped forward in the opponent's half to intercept. He immediately passed to Akamine on the left, who crossed. Hirayama met this with a header. It had momentum but struck the goalkeeper directly...

　In the final stages, both teams launched counterattacks, leading to a speedy development. Tokyo created chances through the sides with Akamine and Hirayama, but they could not convert them into goals. The match ended in a scoreless draw, but it was a game that revealed both challenges and positives, such as the quick transitions between offense and defense and the contributions of the substitute players.

　[Player Comments] <Morimura> "I wanted to move more dynamically, receive the ball, and quickly pass it to become the starting point of the attack. Not being able to do that is a challenge. There were many mistakes during ball circulation, and we lost possession and got caught on the counterattack. I heard that Seoul's physicality is strong, so in the first half, rather than dribbling, I tried to simply pass and make it difficult for the opponent. However, I lost the ball in close contests and it was snatched away. I want to play in a way that scares the opponent more. Realizing these challenges is a valuable takeaway. I will consciously work on this in practice." <Hirayama> "Regarding my appearance, I thought about staying forward and showing up in front of the goal. FC Seoul is physically strong, and I think it was a good training match for both sides. Korean players all have strong spirits and come at you head-on. (There was a close shot,) but I regret not aiming a bit more precisely. I didn’t have many opportunities to play in the first half of this season, but I want to keep focusing on results to make an impact going forward."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "The climate was just like Vietnam, where the Asian Cup is being held, but this kind of weather can occur during the summer from now on. I think it was a good experience. Despite the rain and humidity, after about five days of practice following the off period, we were able to try various things with the players whose condition was gradually returning. One thing was that we could use Morimura, who joined this season. We hadn't been able to try him much in official matches, but since Norio SUZUKI had some discomfort in his knee, we rested him and used Morimura instead. Also, Tadashi BABA and Ishikawa started in the lineup for the first time in a while, so it was good to try these three players. Shinji Mohnami, who returned to the back line, has finally been improving. Of course, the opponent's performance and the heat were factors, but we were able to push the line up. On the other hand, there were certainly some dangerous moments, but with Mohnami in, we could confidently push the line up, which had been dropping deeper until now. However, while there were some very good plays, there were also several big mistakes, and I hope those can be eliminated. We had so many chances that we wanted to score one or two goals. Still, we skillfully circulated the ball and used the field widely, creating opportunities to deliver the ball from the sides. I want to continue this and connect it to the J.League after the restart. FC Seoul also has many good players. By having matches like this every year, we can stimulate each other, and I hope the capital teams of Seoul and Tokyo will lead the league. We want to keep pushing each other to improve going forward."

　[Summary of FC Seoul Coach Gunes' Press Conference] "Today, we are very pleased to have played against the prestigious FC Tokyo. I think it was an interesting match. FC Seoul's second half league opener is just two weeks away, so today was an important match to check the condition of all players. The game ended 0-0, but considering it was a friendly match, I think it was a good result. The humidity was very high, it was very hot, and the conditions were not ideal, but the players ran well. There were many chances, but we couldn't capitalize on them, so it was a close match. (Is this your first visit to Japan since the 2002 World Cup?) I had very good impressions from 2002. I think Japan, as the host country, had very stylish and beautiful support. Turkey lost narrowly and missed the championship, which was disappointing. There are many people in Turkey who love Japan. I think Japan is a country with advanced technology, and I hope they continue to invest in football skills so that players who can go to Europe will emerge. (You brought many young players but used few of them; how do you evaluate them?) FC Seoul is a team with many young players. We have about eight players under 20 years old, and we want to develop them with the next 2-3 years in mind. The reason for not using them was due to injuries and other factors. Four players from FC Seoul participated in the U-20 World Cup in Canada, two of whom came to Japan, but considering fatigue and injuries, we did not use them. Also, two players participated in this Asian Cup."