Final Round, betting on the possibility of advancing to the final tournament

The final round of the qualifying stage will be held as the 7th round of the Nabisco Cup. They will face Sagan Tosu at home. Tokyo, who suffered consecutive losses against Shimizu and G Osaka, has dropped to 4th place in Group A. However, due to the results of other teams in the previous round, there is a possibility for a tight race for the top 6, including 5th place Tosu, to advance to the final tournament. While it may not be possible to advance on their own, it is necessary to win this round above all else, depending on the results of the top teams.

If they are tied in points again, the goal difference and total points will also have an impact, so they want to score as many goals as possible. This is also true for Tosu, as they will need to score in order to win. Tosu, who have won their last two games, have momentum, but Tokyo wants to fight without disrupting their balance. In order to take advantage of their opponents' attacking style and show a game plan that can counter it, it is necessary to not lose in the battle for second balls and in terms of physicality. This is a game where they want to fully display their established style and make it their final performance before the break.

Kakuhiju started as a center back for the first time this season. Tokunaga is the captain and leads the team into the match. The temperature has risen since yesterday and it is now over 30 degrees, making it a hot summer day at Ajinomoto Stadium. The match started at 3:04 PM with Tosu's kickoff.

Conceded the first goal just before the end of the first half...

Due to the heat, both teams were cautious at the start. In the 5th minute, Tokunaga passed to Kawano on the right side, who then crossed to Edu. Mita received the ball in the center and took a shot, but it went over the bar. After that, the team held onto the ball and tried to create chances calmly, but gradually Tosu gained momentum in the front line.

After 10 minutes, they were continuously given set plays and were attacked. They managed to defend against it, but they lost the ball frequently in the front line, making it difficult to create attacking opportunities. On the other hand, Tosu created chances from the left side and in the 25th minute, FW Ikeda connected with MF Okamoto and allowed DF Kikuchi to make a run and take a shot. In the 27th minute, they were once again attacked from the left side and FW Ikeda jumped in to meet MF Kin's ground cross, but Kakuhiju managed to defend and hold them off.

In the 35th minute, a chance was created from a free kick by Tosu, but the team worked together and defended tenaciously. However, in the 44th minute, Tosu quickly connected passes from the left side and MF Hayasaka entered the left area. Unable to control this, a pass was connected to MF Fujita who had run behind Yoshimoto in front of the goal. From here, Fujita took two consecutive shots, both of which were saved by Shioda's determined efforts, but the ball fell to DF Yasuda who pushed it in... Shioda, Kakuhiju, and Ota were unable to cover in time, and the first goal was conceded...

In additional time, the East team in their own territory made a long feed to the front line. Edu, who broke through, ran to the right area and took a shot, but it was blocked by the GK... They ended the first half behind by one point.

3 consecutive losses with no points...finishing in 6th place in the group

In the second half, Tosu took control of the pace. As a result, Muto was substituted for Hirayama in the 50th minute. In the 53rd minute, Mita launched a counter attack and attempted a dribble shot from the center, but the Tosu defense blocked it. In the 56th minute, Tosu's forward Ikeda broke through from the left side. He cut inside and aimed with his right foot, but Shioda made a save. Immediately after this, Yonemoto was substituted for Mita.

However, in the 57th minute, they were unable to clear this Tosu's right CK and were once again attacked by connecting the second ball. The ball sent into the area by Tosu MF Fujita, just outside the right area, grazed Tokyo DF and spilled forward, and Tosu FW Ikeda reacted to it and was pushed in while losing his balance... and they conceded the second goal.

However, with the introduction of Yonehara, Takahashi and Yonehara form a double pivot in midfield. East is placed on the side, and in the 67th minute, Matsuda replaces Kakuhiju and enters as a right back. Tokunaga launches a counterattack by moving to center back. With this momentum, in the 73rd minute, Takahashi steals the loose ball in midfield and Yonehara sends a through pass to Muto on the left side of the area. However, Muto's shot goes wide to the right. Immediately after, Muto presses from the left front line, and Kono steals the ball and breaks through to the left area. He sends a minus cross to Muto on the inside, but the shot is saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

At 85 minutes, Edu passed skillfully to Kono, who had jumped out to the left area, from the center of the area. However, Kono's header was off target. In the 87th minute, East on the left side took a middle shot from a one-two with Muto. In the 43rd minute, Muto on the left side made a move and Matsuda overlapped with speed to take a shot, but both were off target... Despite attacking until the end, they were far from scoring a goal and lost without scoring. They suffered their third consecutive defeat and were unable to advance to the final tournament. They finished the current Nabisco Cup in 6th place in Group A.

[Player Comments]
"Shioda"
"It's disappointing and embarrassing because the result is everything. There were moments where I stopped the shots, but I am responsible for conceding 8 goals in 3 games. There were also parts where we were broken down besides the goals. We haven't been able to fight patiently and we have been countered with momentum from the front. However, it's not like we can't fix it. We want to fix various issues during the camp and build up the good parts."

"Ota"
"It's frustrating to be eliminated in the qualifiers in a game where we couldn't get the results we wanted. It was a game we had to win, but we couldn't build up momentum fast enough. In the first half, we relied too much on long balls and didn't receive enough balls on the side. In the second half, player Higashi became the starting point on the left side, and we were able to create chances by expressing what we wanted to do and having good distance. We've had some good games and some frustrating moments, but I think we need to mature as a team. During the break, we want to establish the type of soccer we want to play."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"Perhaps due to the heat, the first half was not a good performance for both teams. In the second half, many things happened, but after conceding the second goal, we had at least 4-5 chances to score, but we couldn't convert them. However, the players never gave up and played with all their hearts until the end. I want to praise Muto, Kono, and Higashi for creating 4-5 chances and playing with all their hearts until the end. We will now enter the break period, and we want to intelligently and wisely correct what didn't go well in the first half. We will analyze thoroughly as a team and use what we have built up in the past 4 months to start the second half. We must aim for a higher position than last season and have the right ambition. These 4 months have been an important period for us to understand Japanese football. We now have a clear understanding of our own situation and our opponents. We will restart and build a team that can compete and break into the top ranks. "

[Sagan Tosu - Manager YOON Jong Hwan's Press Conference Summary]
"We only had a slight chance, but I want to thank all the fans who came to support us today. We were able to win, but unfortunately we couldn't advance to the final round. If I have any regrets, it's that we couldn't play better in the first two games... But today, despite the hot and tough conditions, the players fought with all their might and showed a game that will lead us to the second half of the league. We told them to play our usual soccer and they did a good job. It was a tough situation with the heat and distractions, but I am grateful to the players for playing a good game."