Restarting the Nabisco Cup, stop Verdy's momentum and win!

　The Nabisco Cup resumes. In the 4th round of the qualifying league, they will face Tokyo Verdy at home. Tokyo is currently in 2nd place in Group B with 4 points. Verdy, in 4th place with 1 point, also has a chance to advance to the final round, so it will be a crucial match for both teams.

　During this period, Nagatomo, Konno, and Kajiyama are absent due to national team activities. Akamine will also be absent due to a knee injury. As a result, Bruno QUADROS will play as a defensive midfielder, and Mukuhara will make his first start of the season as a right back, with Tokunaga moving to the left back position. In addition, Hirayama, who showed good form in a mid-week practice match, and Emerson, who came on as a substitute in the previous league match against Iwata, will both start. This will be the first time all three foreign players will play together. Konda has also made his first appearance in the squad this season.

　Verdy, on the other hand, has been able to improve their position in the league with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in their last 6 matches, despite suffering some early defeats in both the league and Nabisco Cup. Coach Jo Fukushita has also expressed his concern, saying "FW Hukki and Leandro, along with MF Diego, lead the attack while the remaining 7 players maintain balance. Not only is our attacking line strong, but each player has a clear role and our defense is less likely to break down."

　The first point of this match is to stop Verdy's attack, centered around their FW Fukki. It will be necessary to thoroughly defend against their coordinated attacks, where one player initiates and another covers. In terms of offense, Verdy's quick attacks are powerful, so it will be difficult to keep up in a counter-attack situation. We want to calmly connect passes and use the sides as a starting point, breaking through Verdy's defense by creating blocks.

　The rain had stopped before the game, but it was still humid at Ajinomoto Stadium. The "Tokyo Derby" that cannot be lost even in the Nabisco Cup started at 3:04 pm with Verdy's kickoff.

Bruno QUADROS scores a spectacular goal with a powerful shot to take the lead!

　The game started off with a bang. In the 2nd minute, Bruno QUADROS from the midfield passed the ball to Asari in the opponent's territory. Bruno QUADROS made a run and received a pass from the left wing, then dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area and took a bold shot with his right foot. The powerful shot hit the top right corner of the net, GOAL! Bruno QUADROS scores his first goal of the season and takes the lead early on.

　After that, the team was driven by Bruno QUADROS's aggressive attitude and approached the Verdy goal with dynamic play. In the 4th minute, a quick pass was sent to Cabore on the front line, and Cabore dribbled through the center. Despite being surrounded by two opposing DFs near the area, he was not easily taken away and Hanyu, who followed up on the loose ball, took a shot from inside the right area. In the 6th minute, Cabore sent a lob pass to the front line. Bruno QUADROS ran into the area and took the ball from the opposing DF who was trying to steal it, and took a shot. However, both shots were just off target.

　Verdy, on the other hand, tries to create chances through set pieces. In the 10th minute, FW Leandro's dribble is stopped by a foul, giving a FK from the right side of the midfield. FW Hukki takes a direct shot from this FK, but it is blocked by the Tokyo DF wall. In the 13th minute, a FK from the left side for Verdy. MF Ohno sends a ball to the front line, but DF Hattori shoots a middle shot that goes wide. In the 23rd minute, a shot from DF Tsuchiya after clearing a left CK from Verdy's MF Ohno, but the ball ends up at the feet of DF Nasu near the goal. DF Nasu quickly turns and shoots, but Shioda catches it. In the 28th minute, Shioda deflects Verdy's FK, and it goes out for a CK. From DF Hattori's right CK, MF Fukunishi heads the ball near the goal, but it goes over the bar.

　After surpassing Verdy's set play, in the 29th minute, Fujiyama's feed was connected by Hirayama, and Hayabusa → Cabore cut inside from the left side and made a last pass between the opponent's DF and GK. Here, Bruno QUADROS jumped in, but was stopped by Verdy GK Doi's good one-handed save... Immediately after, Emerson → Mukuhara's right cross, Hirayama made a decisive header, but hit the bar... With a quick attack, Cabore and Emerson created chances for additional points, but were unable to score in decisive moments.

　In the 39th minute, Verdy targeted the back of Tokyo DF and MF Sugawara was given a through pass behind Saura. FW Leandro, who broke free in front of the goal, was given a decisive shot, but narrowly missed to the right and escaped danger, ending the first half with a one-point lead.

Defending against Verdy's counterattack, Saitoh and Kondo score their first goals for a resounding victory

　In the second half, Tokyo took control of the pace and attacked. In the 53rd minute, Mokuhara, who had advanced to the goal line, crossed from the right. Hayabusa in the left area dropped it to Emerson in the center... creating a decisive opportunity, but Emerson's shot hit the top of the bar. In the 61st minute, Kabore connected from Fujiyama's interception and sent a long pass to the front line. Hirayama received it and dribbled into the area, but was brought down by a tough check from the defender and couldn't finish. Verdy also tried to find their rhythm by taking daring shots from long range, and in the midst of intense back-and-forth, Kondo was substituted in for Hirayama in the 65th minute.

　In the 66th minute, a counter attack was launched and Emerson dribbled from the right to the center, passing to Tokunaga who was free on the left side. Tokunaga brought the ball into the left area and sent a lofted pass to the front of the goal, where Kondo made a header! It was a decisive opportunity, but the ball went over and the big chance was missed... In the 73rd minute, Verdy left back Hattori overlapped and tried to cross, but this was cut off by Mukuhara. However, the following pass went back to DF Hattori. It seemed like a chance was being created, but Emerson dashed back, sandwiching Mukuhara and winning back the ball.

　Tokyo, who had a high defensive awareness and worked together to defend, began to lose their energy as time passed, allowing Verdy to dominate. Still, in the 76th minute, they substituted Bruno QUADROS and brought in Kanazawa as a central midfielder. They fought hard around the DF line and with tough defense, they hardly gave Verdy any decisive opportunities. In the 79th minute, they fouled Verdy MF Fukunishi and gave a free kick just outside the right area. In the league match, this was where FW Hukki scored. Today, FW Hukki aimed for it again, but the shot was solidly saved by Shioda.

　80 minutes, Cabore is fouled on the left front line and Tokyo gets a FK. Tokunaga takes the FK and Sahara heads it perfectly into the far corner! Sahara finally scores his first J1 goal and adds another point. In the 84th minute, Ishikawa is substituted for Hayashi. Regaining momentum, in the 88th minute, Tokyo gets a FK on the left side of their own field. Tokunaga passes to Cabore on the left side of the opponent's field, and Emerson in the middle makes a through pass to Kondo who jumps out in front of the goal, leaving the opposing DF behind. Kondo then shoots with his left foot, passing through the legs of the opposing GK Doi, and scores the third goal.

　In the end, Tokyo had 11 shots while Verdy had 17 shots, but Mokuhara, Sasaki, Fujiyama, and Tokunaga all fulfilled their defensive roles and did not allow Verdy to play freely. Bruno QUADROS, Sasaki, and Kondo all scored their first goals of the season, and they kept the score at 0, achieving a resounding victory in the home match against Tokyo in the Nabisco Cup.

　【Player Comments】《Bruno QUADROS》"I wanted to make the most of my chance to play, both individually and as a team. I think I had a good performance and a good game. When I received the pass from Hayu, I saw an opening and took the shot, and I was able to score. Playing as a defensive midfielder, I have to pay attention not only to the front but also to the back, and I have to keep passing forward. Today, the three players in front of Verdy were strong, and I respect them. So while being conscious of defense, I tried to attack when there was space. I think we were able to cover each other when one of the three defensive midfielders went up and the other two covered."《Sahara》"I didn't want to hear people say 'we lost because the national team players were absent.' Instead of trying to defend against Verdy's attacking players alone, I focused on working together with 2-3 players to defend. (On his first J1 goal) Tokunaga sent me a good ball. We had chances from set pieces before, so I was aiming for it."

　【Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference】"Three players from each representative team were absent, and a new competition began within the team. We had a desire to turn that into a positive and made a bold decision to change the lineup. The players who played today had prepared well in Kodaira. They were also feeling the fatigue, and I used them with the hope that it would become their energy. They responded to our expectations and did very well. However, if we had scored one more goal in the first half, it would have been a little easier. In the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, we had less time with the ball and felt fatigued. We need to create time for ourselves to rest by deciding where to place the ball, repositioning ourselves, and changing sides while possessing the ball. It is a challenge to create time to lower our heart rate. Bruno QUADROS is a player who knows when it's time to make a move. He is good at sensing when it's his chance. If he has the stamina and his technique is solid, he can do the job up to that point. I wanted him to score one more goal, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a good save and we couldn't score. Still, he has a nose for those kinds of opportunities. (Do you separate the roles of players who are good at sweating and those who do creative work?) The key to choosing players is to prioritize combinations. Of course, if the quality of the anchor player is high, we can play a different kind of soccer by facing forward from the bottom of the midfield. In that sense, the quality of being able to change decisions at the last minute is also important. It's not easy to find a player who has both of those qualities, can maintain balance, defend, and control space in Japan... So, we are considering combinations of players who can control space, cut through courses, and spread the ball. Mokuhara is known for his defensive abilities. Of course, he still has room for improvement, but he understood why we chose to use him. Before the game, I told him, "Be grateful to Fuki. You can play today because he's here." That means to show your strengths and not be afraid of offensive challenges. I think he bravely took on that challenge. Each player has their own strengths, but they also have areas for improvement. If they can improve in those areas, the team can level up even more."

　[Verdy - Coach Hashitani's Press Conference Summary] "We couldn't switch gears from last week's J-League. Our motivation was not high. We were confused about who would mark Bruno QUADROS at the start of the first half. We gave up a goal in one chance and our game plan was disrupted. I think we ended up with a bad pattern of attacking and getting countered. We need to balance the three players up front and the seven players behind them. The players in front need to drop back and the midfielders need to push up. In the second half, we were able to calm down and attack by making the midfield into a box, but ultimately the one goal we conceded in the first half weighed heavily on us."