Challenge! Nabisco Cup Preliminary League Final Round

　Nabisco Cup, which has already secured a spot in the final tournament, took the top spot in Group 1 in the 5th round of the qualifying league held on July 17th. In this round, which is the final round of the qualifying league, they will face Kashiwa without their players Tsuchi and Kaji from the Japan national team, and Mochida, Konno, Ishikawa, and Tokunaga from the Olympic team.

　However, manager Hara said, "I want to try many times" and will face it with a fresh lineup. Center back is Jean and Mashima. Fujiyama on the right side back, Kanazawa on the left. Miyazawa and Kajiyama form a double volante, Kurisawa as a special designated player on the right MF, Abe on the left MF. Bamba in the center, Lucas at the top. In addition to Endo, Miura, and Toda on the bench, Kelly also returns from injury. Maeda, who will be registered as a member for the first time since May 2002, is also on the bench.

　Kashiwa, on the other hand, changed their coach after the end of the 1st stage. Under new coach Hayano, they will face the new team. Moreover, if they win this match, they still have a chance to advance to the final round, so their motivation should be high. On the team sheet, it's a 4-4-2 formation, but DF Hirayama will play as a left midfielder, while MF Roberto and FW Unozawa will form a 2-top in a 3-5-2 formation.

　Tokyo is determined not to make it a digestion match, and it has been about a month since the official match at home on June 19th, and we want to show the challenge and the new face of Tokyo. Although the heat of the day has relaxed slightly, the match started with Tokyo's kickoff in the middle of the temperature exceeding 30 degrees.

Even though they tried to catch the rhythm from the beginning...

　Tokyo took the lead from the start. In the 15th second, Bamba aimed for a goal from the middle range, and in the first minute, Lucas and Bamba exchanged a one-two and entered the area. In the 6th minute, Kajiyama picked up the ball that flowed to the far side from the right corner kick and took a powerful shot in the area. The rebound from the opponent's GK was shot again, but it was also blocked by the GK. In the following 7th minute, Kurizawa connected the rebound from Bamba's shot, and Miyazawa took a shot from just outside the area. It slightly curved to the right. In the 8th minute, Abe broke through the left side and crossed, and Bamba ran into the center and headed the ball perfectly! However, it was saved by the GK, and it did not result in a goal. In the 9th minute, Kurizawa made a side change and floated a final pass to the front line. It was caught by the GK, but Tokyo had been moving well and had taken 6 shots from a speedy and wide development, pushing Kashiwa back.

　However, Kashiwa did not just defend. They persistently took the ball and kept it, waiting for a chance to counterattack. In the 15th minute, they threatened Tokyo's goal from a free kick on the right side. In the 16th minute, Hirayama, who had stayed on the right side during a set play, moved to the center and took the first shot of the day, but it went over the goal. After that, neither team could create any decisive chances until the 30th minute, and it became a back-and-forth battle.

　At 30 minutes, Lucas dribbled up the right side, feinting past the opposing DF multiple times and entering the area to win a corner kick. In the 34th minute, Kashiwa also had a chance when Roberto broke through the left side and crossed to Unozawa, who jumped in front of the goal, but the Tokyo DF concentrated and did not allow a shot. In the 36th minute, Tokyo had a chance. Bamba jumped out to the front line to meet Miyazawa's free kick, but unfortunately it was offside. However, in the 38th minute, Tokyo would be caught off guard. Kashiwa passed the ball around the DF line multiple times, looking for an opportunity to attack. The ball was passed to the midfielder Shigeharu, who quickly passed it to the right side to MF Shigeharu. With two Tokyo players marking Shigeharu, the ball was passed to Ohtani, who had moved up from the position of midfielder. Ohtani was left free and dribbled into the right area to take a shot. The ball went past GK Shioda's outstretched hand and hit the left post, scoring a goal. This was the second shot of the day and resulted in the first goal. Although the flow of the game was not bad throughout the first half, it was unfortunate that they couldn't take advantage of their chances at the beginning and gradually lost momentum. They will need to regroup and head into the second half.

Kelly, Toda's entry will determine the outcome.

　In the second half, Kashiwa substituted FW Yamashita for Zehoberto. Kashiwa was the one who took the initiative with set plays from the beginning. Although they didn't create any decisive shooting scenes, Tokyo also made a move by substituting Kelly for Abe in the 52nd minute. Then in the 53rd minute, Lucas on the left side passed to Kajiyama who had moved up to support. Kajiyama evaded the DF and entered the area, sending a final pass to the center, but Kashiwa's DF cut it off. In the 55th minute, Kajiyama received a pass from Kanazawa and once again attacked the area, but couldn't shoot due to Kashiwa's quick check. In the 56th minute, Lucas received a pass from Kelly and jumped into the area while competing with the DF, then returned it to Kelly who ran in from behind. However, Kelly's shot, which was taken freely, went over the bar. They missed a big chance to tie the game.

　Kashiwa made a substitution in the 57th minute, with MF Masuda replacing MF Nagai. However, in the 60th minute, Tokyo showed a quick attack as Jean dropped a long ball to Lucas on the front line, and Kanazawa ran up the left side to take a shot. Kashiwa's DF blocked the shot. In the 66th minute, a pass was made to Masuda near the area from a free kick on the right side, but his shot was deflected by a teammate and they narrowly avoided conceding a goal.

　As the attack and defense continued, in the 70th minute, Toda was substituted for Miyazawa, who had injured his leg. Toda was placed as the right MF, with Baba on the left and Kajiyama and Kurisawa as the double volante. In the 73rd minute, Toda received a pass from Fujiyama on the left side and used his speed to get past the opponent DF and cut into the center. The ball hit the Kashiwa DF and bounced, but Fujiyama, who had moved up to support, passed it to Kanazawa in the center. Kanazawa controlled the ball with one touch and took a well-controlled shot, but it just missed to the left.

　In the 77th minute, Kelly tenaciously took the ball from Kashiwa in their own half and dribbled up the field, passing to Lucas on the left side. Lucas challenged the defender one-on-one and appeared to be fouled as he entered the area, but instead, a foul was called on Lucas. Despite Kashiwa's tight marking and determined defense, they were unable to score in the end. With the introduction of Kelly and Toda, they gradually found their rhythm and the possibility of scoring became more apparent.

Launch a fierce attack against 10 Kashiwa players and bring the game to a tie!

　81st minute. Kashiwa's pass is cut by Jean. Kurihara connects with it and sends a lob pass from around the center line to the front line. In response, Toda brilliantly breaks through the space and takes a shot near the penalty arc, but Kashiwa GK Minami blocks it with his hand. Minami is sent off for this play. Kashiwa is forced to play with 10 men as they substitute GK Shimizu for Unozawa. From the resulting free kick, Lucas takes a direct shot but it is blocked by the opponent's wall. Just before this play, Maeda is substituted for Mashima. Maeda takes over as right back while Fujiyama moves to center.

　"I was happy to hear my call when I came on as a substitute. I was calm enough to hear it," said Maeda, who showed great determination from the first play. In the 87th minute, Kanazawa cut off a clear ball from Kashiwa DF. When Baba passed to Kelly on the right side, Maeda, who judged that he couldn't get past two opposing DFs in the area, chose to cross without hesitation. During this time, Kelly was brought down in front of the goal. Lucas calmly kicked the penalty kick to the left and scored! They equalized in the last minute.

　Tokyo, which is gaining momentum, still had time left to aim for 3 points, including 5 minutes of stoppage time. In the 89th minute, Kelly dribbled past the DF and ran up the right side, but her middle shot went over the goal. And it was during stoppage time. When Toda passed to Kajiyama and then to Lucas on the front line, it was initially passed to the opponent's DF. However, Baba picked up this loose ball and made a floating pass in front of the goal. Lucas jumped out to meet it, and although he collided with the GK, he managed to make a graceful shot that floated and curved into the goal with his toes! It seemed like Lucas had scored an artistic go-ahead goal, but it was ruled as no goal due to a foul on the GK by Lucas. It was truly a "phantom goal", but Tokyo continued to push for victory until the end and almost caught up to Kashiwa's goal. However, in the end, it ended in a 1-1 draw, with Tokyo pushing Kashiwa to the brink of defeat but ultimately settling for a draw.

　However, despite not being able to take the lead, the substitute players Kelly, Toda, and Maeda played lively and were able to tie the game with numerous attempts, making it a rewarding and confidence-boosting match. It has also been decided that they will face Gamba Osaka, who finished second in Group B, in the quarterfinals of the Nabisco Cup on September 4th.

【Player Comments】《Maeda》"I've always wanted to stand on the field of Ajinomoto Stadium and hear the cheers from the stands. I've been thinking that if I could get into the starting lineup after two years, I would give it my all without hesitation. (When Lucas got a penalty kick) I thought I couldn't get past the defenders, but then I saw Lucas in the middle. I actually wanted to send a ground cross... I think I played pretty well overall, but there were times when the ball didn't go where I wanted it to, like on the final cross. I want to continue to strive for more accuracy and not be satisfied with just one good game. I want to keep working hard to get good results and be able to play in every game."《Kelly》"I'm happy to be back on the field and considering it's been a while, I was able to play well without any pain from my injury. My mindset is at 100%, but my physical condition and rhythm in games are still lacking. We just have to keep playing more games. We want to practice together as much as possible and gain a sense of the game so that we can enter the second stage at 100%."

【Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference】"Six players were selected for both the Japan national team and the Olympic team, and with their absence, we thought about trying various things today. First, we put Fujiyama at right back and Mashima at center back. Miyazawa and Kajiyama have never started together as defensive midfielders before. Miura has more leadership, but we wanted to see how the two of them would do together, so we tried it out. We also tested starting Abe and bringing in Toda as a substitute. As for Toda, I think his speed is more effective when he comes on as a substitute. Kelly is still not in top form, his touch is off and his finishing still needs work. However, just practicing is not enough to get back into form, so even though he was eager to start, we brought him on in a crucial moment in the second half. As the game went on, he started to get more comfortable and showed his typical movements, slipping through defenders. Maeda is not particularly skilled, but he has been working hard in training. He is normally a defensive midfielder, but he can also play in the back line, so we were thinking about using him if the opportunity arose... (when he came on as a substitute) I put Fujiyama in the center and told him to defend well, and to keep pushing forward on the right side. As a result, we were able to get a penalty kick from his cross. When players like him, who work hard and consistently, produce results like this, it motivates the younger players and makes the competition even fiercer. Being able to use Maeda and seeing him play well will have a positive impact on the team in the future. In such hot conditions and with our first place finish in the qualifying round already secured, we were able to try out these things. In the end, I thought we had won, but (Lucas' foul resulted in a disallowed goal) that is our style. It is also becoming a favorite style for Lucas. Through our trip to Spain and the match against Roma, I hope to further develop our partnership with Kelly and increase our scoring power as we head into the second stage."

[Summary of Kashiwa Hayano's press conference] "There are challenges ahead of us in not being able to win in a game where we went for the win in any way. We expected to be pushed back by FC Tokyo for the first 15 minutes of the first half. There were times when we missed decisive chances, but we saw the players endure and recover. We haven't been able to score much in the past, but we were able to get one point. I think the players fought with concentration. However, I still feel a lack of scoring ability in not being able to reach the final step = victory, 3 points. Especially for the second goal, and also for set pieces, the accuracy still needs to improve. It's a challenge that we need to continue to work on. However, I feel progress in being able to hold on without falling apart with 10 players. If we don't fight through, no matter how much tactics we have, our bodies won't move, and I think not being able to break through there will lead to the next step. Whether the focus will be on not being able to score in the last two games, or on fighting through until the end, it depends on how you look at it, but I want to look at both sides and create the direction of the team."