Match Review
This is truly a restart match. The winning streak in the league stopped last weekend, and midweek saw elimination from the 2025 J.League YBC Levain Cup. There are only two league matches left in the first half of the season, including this match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, and today is a game where we absolutely want to win to gain momentum for a comeback in the second half of the season.
The team, facing a match just three days after the Levain Cup game against Shonan Bellmare, changed eight starters from the previous match. The goalkeeper, Taishi Brandon NOZAWA, who was also used in the Shonan match, started for the first time in three league games. The back line consisted of Kanta DOHI on the right, Seiji KIMURA, and Enrique Trevisan. The wing backs were Kosuke SHIRAI on the right and Soma ANZAI on the left. In midfield, the defensive midfielders were Takahiro KO and Kei KOIZUMI, with Keita ENDO on the right inside half and Kota TAWARATSUMIDA, who attracted attention with his first call-up to the Japan national team, on the left. The formation chosen was a 3-4-2-1 system with Keito SATO as the lone striker.
The venue is the Japan National Stadium, boasting an undefeated home record since its renovation. This day was 'New Balance Day,' and the blue and red eleven wore a surprise gray Special kit. At player entrance, a giant jersey was spread out at the center circle, leading up to kickoff.
1st HALF—Both teams show high concentration in switching between offense and defense and in ball contests
A "mirror game" where both teams adopt the same system. In the early stages, both sides cautiously probe each other's moves while searching for attacking opportunities. In the 8th minute of the first half, the opponent's right free kick flowed to the opposite side, and it seemed they scored first by finishing a cross at the far post, but with VAR support, it was ruled offside, avoiding an early concession.
Tokyo tries to gradually push forward while circulating the ball. At the 25th minute of the first half, they launched a long counterattack from their own half, and when player Sato powerfully carried the ball into the penalty area, he took a bold right-footed shot, but it narrowly missed to the left of the goal.
A game where both teams show high concentration in switching between offense and defense and in ball contests. Each side uses a mix of short and long passes to launch attacks, but due to the system that shifts to a five-back formation in defense to close down space, they are unable to create clear scoring opportunities as they wish.
Tokyo tries to break through with sharp attacks. In the 44th minute of the first half, player Sato attempted to penetrate the center with dribbling involving precise touches, but just missed the chance to finish.
The match remained unchanged during the 3 minutes of additional time, and the first half ended. The outcome of the game was postponed to the second half.
2nd HALF—Unable to find a way to attack, lost control and suffered a 0-3 defeat
After halftime, Hiroshima replaced player Maeda with player Nakamura. Tokyo, on the other hand, entered the second half without any substitutions.
Tokyo tried once again to find an attacking strategy, but their momentum was halted early in the match. Four minutes into the second half, after clearing the opponent's left corner kick, a throw-in allowed the opposition to advance deep down the right side. A cross from player Arai was headed in by player Araki, resulting in a goal conceded. They found themselves trailing by one point.
Tokyo, chasing the game, tried to advance into the opponent's territory with Shirai's dribbling across the pitch, Endo's left-footed mid-range shot, and Tawara Tsukida's dribbling, but in the 14th minute of the second half, they were broken down on the left side by a short counterattack. Koizumi desperately tracked back to cut the play, but the coordination of the back line was disrupted, and Ryo GERMAIN pushed in the second goal.
Tokyo, having fallen further behind, substituted Shirai and Takashi for Marcelo RYAN, who has scored in three consecutive league matches, and Keigo HIGASHI, who is making his 400th J1 League appearance in this match. With this substitution, RYAN moved to the lone striker position, Sato shifted to inside half, and Endo changed to right wing-back. Higashi remained in the defensive midfield position.
Furthermore, at the 28th minute of the second half, Henrique, Sato, Masato MORISHIGE, and Teruhito NAKAGAWA were switched. The formation was changed to place MORISHIGE in the center of the three-back and NAKAGAWA as the right inside half.
Tokyo aimed to counterattack, but an accident occurred when newly introduced player RIAN was injured and forced to be substituted. At the 32nd minute of the second half, Teppei OKA was rushed onto the pitch. OKA was placed as the left wing-back, Anzai was moved to inside half, and Nakagawa was pushed to the front line, forming a scramble formation to fight the remaining time.
However, we struggled to create attacking opportunities and were unable to connect the ball and carry it into the attacking third.
In the 41st minute of the second half, a handball was called during a defensive set-piece duel, resulting in a penalty kick, but the opponent missed the kick, which saved us. However, just two minutes later, in the 43rd minute, Nakamura broke through on the left side of our defense, and Kawabe scored from the rebound, conceding a painful third goal.
6 minutes of additional time, Tawara Tsukida made a cut-in and a vertical pass to Nakagawa, Kimura headed from Endo's free kick, and Tawara Tsukida broke through from Endo's through pass, but they could not create a decisive chance and time was up. They lost with a score of 0-3, marking their third consecutive official match defeat, and their unbeaten home record at Japan National Stadium was stopped at 10, resulting in a frustrating outcome.
MATCH DETAILS
<FC Tokyo>
STARTING XI
GK Taishi Brandon NOZAWA
DF Kanta DOI/Henrique Trevisan (28th minute second half: Masato Morishige)/Seiji KIMURA/Kosuke SHIRAI (17th minute second half: Marcelo Hian) (32nd minute second half: Teppei Oka)
MF Soma ANZAI/Takao Hiroshi/(17th minute second half: Keigo Higashi) Keita ENDO/Kei Koizumi
FW Megumi Sato (28th minute second half: Teruhito NAKAGAWA)/Kota TAWARATSUMIDA
SUBS
GK Go HATANO
DF Yasuki KIMOTO
MF Kota TOKIWA
FW Leon NOZAWA
MANAGER
Rikizo MATSUHASHI
GOAL
―
<Sanfrecce Hiroshima>
STARTING XI
GK Keisuke OSAKO
DF Tsukasa SHIOYA (45th min 2nd half: Sota KOSHIMICHI) / Hayato ARAKI (45th min 2nd half: Taichi YAMASAKI) / Sho SASAKI
MF Shuto NAKANO / Shun KAWABE / Toshiki AZUMA / Naoto ARAI
FW Naoki MAEDA (0 min 2nd half: Sota NAKAMURA) / Mutsuki KATO (45th min 2nd half: Ryo GERMAIN) / Ryo GERMAIN (49th min 2nd half: Hiroya MATSUMOTO)
SUBS
GK Chong Mingi
MF Daiki SUGA/Shion INOUE/Motoki OHARA
MANAGER
Michael SKIBBE
GOAL
Second half 4': Hayato ARAKI / Second half 14': Ryo GERMAIN / Second half 43': Shun KAWANABE
[Interview with Coach Rikizo MATSUHASHI]
Q, please look back on today's game.
A, I take responsibility for this disappointing result myself, and I feel a great sense of responsibility because we have been losing not only in the league matches but also in the cup competitions recently. Rather than summarizing the game, my mind is focused on how we can break through this situation and what we should do next.
Q, how are you thinking of breaking through the current situation?
A, at this point, the formation is one thing on my mind. This is something that has been considered for some time. However, before that, rather than focusing on the formation itself, I believe that the key is how to maximize the players' strengths in terms of their positioning. In that sense, my thoughts have been continuously revolving around this.
Q, there were many scenes where players slipped; was that due to their condition or was it an issue with adapting to the turf?
A, I’m not entirely sure, but whatever the reason or conditions, it shouldn’t happen. Of course, slipping due to an accident is something that can naturally occur, but in terms of preparation for the game, I think that aspect is somewhat immature.
Q: From the perspective of the coach, how did you see the match overall, given that there was no decisive flaw or clear cause of defeat, but it seemed like the game gradually slipped behind and the goal difference widened?
A, I think that perspective is valid, but even so, we have to win. We must defend firmly. We have to score goals. Leaving vague areas vague is something that always has a reason behind a defeat, so how we can tighten up those seemingly loose parts is important. I wouldn’t say the players have no awareness of this at all, but maintaining high concentration, anticipation, and the ability to read the game throughout the full 90 minutes—including all those aspects—is something we must build solidly ourselves. Otherwise, if we get caught vaguely, the game will just proceed vaguely as well.
Regarding the cause, even I don’t have a clear and timely understanding of exactly why the current goals conceded happened, but within that context, whether or not we can make the optimal substitution is also an important factor. In recent games, there have been increasing cases where substitutions must be made due to physical issues, and this is less about injuries and more about examining the training load and other details. Unless we thoroughly address these finer points, I believe we won’t be able to identify what exactly that vague issue is.
[Player Interview]
<Kota TAWARATSUMIDA>
Q: please review the game.
A: It was a disappointing game. We need to increase the moments and periods where we press forward and create chances. In today’s match, there were occasions where individual skill brought us to shooting opportunities, but we want to deepen our teamwork, combinations, and mutual understanding even more. We want to carefully align the small mismatches and play with more creativity. It starts with focusing on the details of our play, not losing in set pieces or one-on-one situations. Otherwise, we cannot surpass our opponents. I believe such differences were reflected in today’s match.
Q: It was a league match immediately after being selected for the Japan national team.
A: I feel pressure and tension not only in today's match but at all times, and I believe that no matter the situation, I have to lead the team. Even in difficult matches, I think it is required of me to give my all and contribute to the team. There are still many challenges ahead.
Q: Against Hiroshima's solid defense, what aspects do you feel were lacking in our attack?
A: There were not enough off-the-ball movements before receiving the ball and not enough chances. I want to work more closely with my teammates to increase the number of times I receive the ball and turn those moments into opportunities and goals. Also, after conceding a goal, the overall atmosphere became too down. It was a situation where we needed to face forward and lift the mood. Including myself, I think the time spent feeling down was wasted, and it was not enough to pull the win closer.
<Keigo HIGASHI>
Q. It ended with a frustrating result.
A. This is our current situation, and this is the reality. How we accept it and work to improve it depends on us, so I think there is no other choice.
Q: While watching the first half, what difficulties did you mention before you entered the game?
A. I felt there were too few actions coming from us. Since it was a home game, the attitude of pushing more and more towards the goal, the mindset of scoring and winning — those seemed somewhat lacking from the first half. I think we weren’t much of a threat to the opponent.
Q. Is that an individual issue, or something the entire team should unify more on?
A. I think it’s definitely both. Since it’s soccer, it’s not just one or the other. Of course, it’s the responsibility of the players who took the field, including myself, to do more once we’re on the pitch. Also, as a team, we need to have more discussions about how to move forward and actually put those plans into action. That’s why we are at this ranking, and I believe this is the difference between us and Hiroshima at the moment.
Q. Even though this many customers came, it seemed like the content was not good.
A. It's no good. I think it's completely no good. Of course, including myself, we have to do more, and since I came on midway, I have to change the flow. I truly feel sorry about that.
Q. How do you plan to improve from here?
A. It’s not easy. But we can’t run away or keep pretending things are fine now. We need everyone to share their opinions and have more honest discussions about what we should do this way or that way.
Q, It was a milestone match marking 400 appearances in the J1 League.
A. Ideally, I wanted to celebrate my 400th match with a win, but life doesn’t always go that smoothly. That’s how I’ve grown stronger—not just through good times, but also through hardships—and I believe that won’t change going forward; it will always be a cycle like this. That’s why we can’t run away from the current situation. Including myself, the entire team must firmly accept it and move forward. No matter how much we talk, as professional soccer players, I believe our value lies in expressing ourselves on the pitch. So, we have to steadily build up from the next training session and clear these feelings in the next match.
<Takahiro KO>
Q, Today's match ended in a disappointing result.
A, We are weak. That’s all there is to it.
Q, I believe you had various discussions after the match; what was the content of those talks?
A, We have no choice but to keep going, so we firmly accepted it, and talked about not staying down here forever but standing up properly and moving forward to the next challenge.
Q, This is your 9th year as a professional and your 6th year in the J1 League, and today marked the milestone of your 100th match.
A, First of all, I am filled with deep regret over today's match, but I am grateful for the many people who have supported me up to this point, and I want to continue to steadily move forward and diligently improve day by day.
Q, I think 100 matches is just a milestone, but how do you want to develop from here?
A, I want to improve more and win many things, so I hope to reflect on myself and keep moving forward.
