It's a home game, win to secure advancement to the Final Round!

　Currently with 10 points, Tokyo is at the top of Group B. If they earn 1 point this match, they will secure their advancement to the Final Round on their own. Even with a draw, they will advance if Shimizu S-Pulse, who is in second place, loses. However, this is the last home game before the World Cup. They want to celebrate with a comfortable victory, finish in first place, and welcome the upcoming Quarterfinal Round at home.

　Verdy 1969 is also in 3rd place with 4 points, keeping the possibility of advancing in the tournament. Naturally, they will come with all their strength to win. It will be a match that neither side can afford to lose.

　The starting and substitute members remain unchanged from Sec. 3, with kickoff at 7 PM at Japan National Stadium.

Overwhelming Verdy, but unable to finish

　From the start of the first half, Tokyo attacks the Verdy goal. In the 2nd minute, Kelly and Fukuda execute a one-two pass and advance into the penalty area. In the 7th and 9th minutes, Fukuda and Fujiyama send sharp crosses in front of the goal, winning consecutive corner kicks. In the 11th minute, Hoshi traps a pass coming from behind in the penalty area and shoots. In the 13th minute, after applying pressure in midfield to win the ball, Miyazawa takes a long-range shot. In the 15th minute, a quick attack is connected through Kelly, Hoshi, and Miyazawa, and in the 16th minute, Fukuda breaks through behind the defense from a pass by Shimohira, overwhelming Verdy. However, Verdy's back line is solid, making it difficult to score easily.

　On the other hand, Verdy's FW Edimundo is completely withdrawn to the midfield, trying to use that as a starting point, but even when they win the ball at the final line, they become prey to Tokyo's press and cannot connect their passes.

　In the 19th minute, after Dohi caught a free kick from Verdy, they launched a counterattack. Toda broke free from a pass from Hoshi but was unfortunately offside. In the 23rd minute, Fukuda stole the ball from a tough challenge in front of the goal and took a shot, but it went wide. In the 29th minute, Ito sent in a cross from deep on the right side, which was cleared by the opposing defender. Hoshi rushed in on the high ball in the penalty area and took a volley shot just in front of the right goal area, but it unfortunately went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 34th minute, Kelly headed a corner kick but it went just left of the goal. Tokyo had momentum up to the goal, but they couldn't finish as they seemed to fall into Verdy's slow rhythm.

　Verdy broke through the left side in the 39th minute with FW Hiramoto. MF Yamada aimed from a distance at the cleared cross, but this was the first shot. In the 43rd minute, from a corner kick, MF Soma delivered a cross, and Hiramoto shot at the loose ball, but both attempts missed the goal.

　In the 44th minute, Verdy's GK came out to punch a precise corner kick from Miyazawa. Kelly pushed in the loose ball, but the opposing defender blocked it just before it crossed the goal line. Unable to capitalize on the chance, the first half ended with a score of 0 to 0.

Conceded the opening goal from Edimundo's penalty

　Tokyo continues to attack without losing momentum in the second half. In the 46th minute, they earned a corner kick from Hoshi's cross, and in the 49th minute, Fukuda stole the ball and initiated a counterattack. However, Kelly's cross was cleared by Verdy's DF, and neither opportunity resulted in a finish. As the attacking line gradually pushed forward and the DF line began to open up, space was created, allowing Verdy to take control.

　However, in the 52nd minute, Edimundo's free kick was cleared by the DF. They defended two corner kicks with concentration, and in the 53rd minute, FW Marquinhos broke through behind the DF, but this was blocked by Ito, who put his body on the line... Immediately after, in the 55th minute, taking advantage of a momentary gap from a throw-in, Marquinhos again broke through behind the DF and found himself one-on-one with Doih in the penalty area. Doih, who jumped in, was judged to have committed a foul, awarding a penalty kick to Verdy. In the 57th minute, Edimundo converted this penalty kick, and Tokyo not only fell behind but also allowed their first goal in the Nabisco Cup.

Amaral, with Miyazawa's passionate goal, achieved a magnificent comeback victory!!

　Tokyo has managed to keep a clean sheet for four consecutive matches. When a record is broken, it often leads to a drop in morale, but the current Tokyo team was different. In the 58th minute, Amaral was brought on to replace Toda, and the mood for a counterattack intensified. Immediately after, a free kick from the right side was contested by Amaral and the opposing defender in front of the goal, and Jean headed the loose ball. The ball shook the net, but unfortunately, it was ruled a foul and no goal was awarded.

　After that, the timing of the press started to slightly falter, and there were scenes where Verdy attacked, but after overcoming this, in the 64th minute, Kelly received a pass on the right side and crossed it in front of the goal. Amaral then powerfully headed the ball into the net! With the ace's equalizer at a crucial moment, the match was brought back to square one.

　The FC Tokyo players had no thought of being satisfied with a draw. In the 69th minute, Fukuda headed the ball from a free kick taken by Miyazawa from the right side. In the 73rd minute, Jean aimed for a free kick just outside the penalty area after the opposing GK handled the ball.

　However, Verdy is trailing S-Pulse at this point, and a draw would leave them with no chance, so they counter with intense play. In the 71st minute, they brought in the speedy midfielder Sakurai to replace Hiramoto. The match is developing with rapid changes in offense and defense.

　In the 74th minute, Tokyo substituted Sato for Hoshi, entering a must-win stance. In the 77th minute, Fukuda headed a cross from Sato after a play on the right side with Kaji. In the 78th minute, Amaral received a pass from Shimohira and attempted a shot, but both were caught by the GK. However, Tokyo, maintaining their attacking posture, connected a kick from Doih and in the 87th minute, Kelly brought the ball into space on the right side and passed to Kaji, who, seeing that the Verdy defenders were tightly positioned in front of the goal, passed to the space near the penalty arc. Miyazawa, running in, struck with his left foot without hesitation, and the ball flew with tremendous force over the outstretched hand of GK Takakuwa, piercing the left corner of the goal!!　

　After Miyazawa scored a goal that seemed to embody his feelings, they took the lead, and in the 88th minute, rookie Maeda was brought in to replace Fukuda. In a formation close to a triple defensive midfield, they managed to withstand Verdy's fierce counterattack and the match ended.

　With a passionate comeback victory, we secured 3 points and advanced to the Nabisco Cup qualifying league in first place. Although there is still the final match away against Shimizu in two days, we will enter the J-League break undefeated in our home games this season.

[Miyazawa Player Comment] "I wanted to win today to secure first place, so I was glad to score my goal at that moment and win. The key to our victory was not panicking even when we fell behind. Our goal is to win the championship. I want to believe in our possibilities and do my best. I want to win again on the 12th and carry that momentum into the league matches."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I told the players to aim for victory in order to pass the qualifiers in first place. However, even when we created good opportunities, we couldn't score in the end. In that situation, we were countered, and we allowed Marquinhos to be free during a penalty situation. With a tough schedule, we couldn't maintain pressure from the front, and inevitably, there were many scenes where we had to fall back and play slowly, but the balance has improved. Therefore, the challenge is to score goals. Sometimes we lack strength at crucial moments, so we want to improve that precision. Even when we fell behind, the players didn't crumble and had the desire to recover. Amaral and Yukihiko also did well coming off the bench, and Miyazawa is showing steady growth while playing the full match. However, I want to play matches and football that will bring more fans in and make them happy. For that, we still lack decisiveness."

[Summary of Verdy's Coach Lori's Press Conference] "It was a very speedy match, and both teams showed fighting spirit, making it a good game. Until the 30th minute of the first half, FC Tokyo led the game, but in the last 15 minutes, space opened up, and Verdy found their rhythm, creating decisive chances. In the second half, we maintained that pace and good rhythm, which led to scoring. After conceding a goal, FC Tokyo utilized their bench work, which provided good options. Amaral is strong in aerial battles, and we had to be cautious. In a situation where we had no choice, we aimed for counterattacks, and there were chances created from good passing work. However, conversely, we conceded a long shot from the opponent's counterattack. I want to congratulate FC Tokyo for capitalizing on their decisive chances."