Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Qualifying League Starts!

Tokyo, which will participate in the Nabisco Cup qualifying league for the first time since 2010, will face Sagan Tosu at home in the first match. In Group B, Kashima, Niigata, Nagoya, C Osaka, Tosu, and Oita will compete in a round-robin format until May 22 (Tokyo until the 6th match on May 15). The top two teams in the group will advance to the final tournament. Coach Popovich said, "There are unique challenges in cup matches, but our attitude and style of play will not change," and the battle to aim for the title one step at a time begins with our feet firmly on the ground.

This week, Japan national team's Takahashi and Gonda, and South Korea national team's Hyun Soo JANG are absent from the team. As a result, GK Shioda, DF Kaga, MF Tanabe, and FW Lee will start. Rookie Mita will also be in the starting lineup, playing on both sides with Tanabe, and the double pivot will be formed by Yonemoto and HASEGAWA.

Sagan Tosu, on the other hand, ended up with two draws since the start of the league, but in the previous match against Kawasaki, they managed to win by controlling the intense battle. Under the guidance of coach Yoon, the style of working hard together, which has been built up until last season, is still alive. Furthermore, they are pushing forward with a fighting spirit and improving their quality.

This week, Tosu also changed their members, with FW Toyota, Ikeda, MF Fujita, who are symbols of the team, absent. Instead, they will use fresh players such as FW Kiyotake and launch a powerful attack from the front, while sticking to their own style and launching an organized defense.

It is the first match of the cup tournament where results are expected, but it is a battle to aim for victory by taking control of both offense and defense as usual. The match started at 2:04 pm in Tokyo under cloudy skies with strong winds blowing.

Both teams had fresh players that attracted attention, but they were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

In the early stages, Sagan Tosu, who had the wind at their backs, were on the offensive. FW Kiyotake's long throw and long pass to FW Roni put pressure on Tokyo's goal, but Tokyo responded calmly. On the other hand, in the 14th minute, Lee unleashed a powerful header from a right corner kick taken by Higashi. However, the shot missed to the left.

At 19 minutes, Ota overlapped from the outside with a skillful pass from left side Tanabe. He went up to the sideline and sent a powerful cross. Lee was in the center, but the ball was deflected by the Tosu GK. Next, Mita from the right side → East who pierced the left front line with a sharp low cross. Tanabe was close, but he couldn't hit it cleanly due to a collision with the Tosu DF and it went out of frame.

Tokyo was unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities against Tosu, who put their bodies on the line in the final moments. On the other hand, Tosu attacked mainly through set pieces, resulting in a back-and-forth match. In the 34th minute, Mita received a pass from Yonemoto and earned a corner kick. From Hasegawa's kick, Yonemoto took a shot from the middle but it was blocked. In the 40th minute, Mita's direct free kick from the right side was also stopped by Tosu's defense wall.

Despite being affected by the wind and pitch conditions, Tokyo was unable to take full control of the game despite creating attacking opportunities by connecting passes. On the other hand, it should have been a successful game plan for Tosu, who showed a speedy counterattack from a solid defense. However, both teams lacked the finishing touch and ended the first half with a scoreless draw.

Despite not being able to take advantage of the opportunity, we maintained our focus and started with a draw.

In the second half, Tokyo aggressively attacked from the start. In the 49th minute, they connected from the right to the left, and Ota passed to the center to Hasegawa, who then entered the area and attempted a one-two with Mita, but was unable to get past the Tosu defenders. In the 51st minute, Higashi took a shot from mid-range, but it went wide of the goal.

However, in the 58th minute, they were unable to handle the second ball in the midfield and the ball floated towards the DF line. Tosu's right MF Mizunuma jumped out and took a shot from the right side. In the 60th minute, they lost the ball due to a mistake by Tokyo and were immediately countered with a cross. In the 61st minute, they lost the ball in the midfield and Tosu made a direct shot towards the goal. However, FW Roni's shot was not strong enough and went straight to Shioda.

Both teams did not miss each other's openings and the game became an intense back-and-forth battle. In the 64th minute, a big chance was created from the combination of Hasegawa and Mita. Hasegawa in the midfield sent a lofted pass to the front line, where Mita on the right side broke through the defense. He skillfully controlled the ball with his chest and took a decisive shot with speed, but... it hit the crossbar and went over the line, unable to convert the scoring opportunity.

In the 71st minute, Otake, who returned from a long absence since last year, replaced Tanabe and played as an attacking midfielder. Higashi moved to the side. In the 75th minute, he was caught by a vertical pass from Tosu FW Kiyotake and had a chance to shoot from just outside the central area, but it went off target and they avoided danger. In the 77th minute, Tokyo brought in Hirayama. Li changed positions to the side and aimed for a goal.

However, despite trying to create chances in a coordinated manner, there were also mistakes and the game turned into a counterattack by Tosu. In the 87th minute, Watanabe was substituted. In the final minutes, they increased their momentum and attacked, but in stoppage time, after a pass exchange on the right side, Hasegawa dropped the ball and Otake's shot from outside the right area went over the bar. They defended against Tosu's quick attacks without losing focus and used player substitutions to attack, but the game ended in a scoreless draw. In their first Nabisco match, they only managed to earn 1 point.

[Player Comments]
《Tanabe》"It was a difficult game as we struggled to connect as a team and Tosu kept kicking the ball. We had the feeling that if we could break through their high press, we could have controlled the game more, but we also struggled on the pitch. However, we had chances...so it's important to finish them off and we're keenly aware of that. We couldn't win our first game in the Nabisco Cup, so there's both frustration and disappointment, but at the same time, there were enjoyable moments and we were able to get a feel for things. From here on, I want to contribute to the team's success."

《Mita》"I always watched everyone's plays and movements during practice, so I didn't think there would be any problems with our coordination in attack and defense. However, I was more conscious of my own positioning as I had rarely played on the right side until becoming a professional. In the first half, I had to think about where to position myself as we were playing against the wind. As time went on, I was able to get used to it and in the second half, I think I was able to face forward and compete."

(About scoring opportunities) In the second half, we had the wind at our backs, so I thought that changing sides would be effective. I was often positioned on the side because of that, which I think is why the center was open. However, my traps were good and I was too fired up for my shots. I should have calmed down and taken my shots. I wanted to score and create more scenes in front of the goal.

[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
《Coach Ranko POPOVIC》"We were able to show what we needed to do in a strong wind and not-so-good pitch environment. Tosu is a disciplined team that can work hard and be aggressive in the J-League. I can't say that I'm not satisfied with the attitude shown by the Tokyo players. I appreciate their consciousness of connecting the ball even in such bad conditions."

There were decisive chances, but we couldn't finish them. That's a challenge, but we need to improve our accuracy. However, we didn't let the opponent create any decisive chances. We fought with discipline. There may have been dangerous situations in the chaos from Tosu's long throw, but we didn't let them create any chances in the flow. We would like to thank all the fans and supporters who came to support us and helped us with our strength.

Also, it should have been said first, but the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup has been certified by Guinness. It's a great honor and a wonderful thing to contribute so much to the world of football. As a token of our gratitude, we want to play well and return with good results. Today wasn't the best result, but we see it as expressing what we can do on the pitch. The J-League is also celebrating its 20th anniversary, and the Nabisco Cup is also celebrating its coming of age. In Japan, it's the coming of age ceremony at the age of twenty, but it's still young. We hope that it will continue to be a traditional cup competition in Japan."

《Sagan Tosu Manager Yoon》"I would like to express my gratitude to our supporters and Tokyo supporters for coming to the game. Today, the weather was not good and the pitch conditions were also bad, but I think it was a game where both teams fought hard. With changes in the lineups, there was also a battle to discover new strengths and players."

Last season, we made significant changes to the squad for the Nabisco Cup, but this season, we have the intention of achieving better results than last year and not completely changing all players, but rather evaluating new players while keeping some of the existing ones. In the midst of that, the players fought until the end without losing focus. I want to express my gratitude for that. We couldn't win, but I think we should be satisfied with taking 1 point back from the away game. We have another match in just a few days. It will be a home game, so we want to prepare well and aim for a solid victory."