Secure your spot in the finals tournament!

　The match of the day, which resumed after a three-week break from the end of the 1st stage, is the 5th round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying Group D, with Tokyo playing away against Kobe. Tokyo, currently leading Group D (at the end of the 4th round), is in a situation where they will secure a place in the top 2 and advance to the final tournament if they draw or win this match. They definitely want to win and secure their spot comfortably. On the other hand, Kobe, despite being at the bottom of the group, still has a chance to advance to the final tournament if they win this match, so it is expected that they will come out with determination at home.

　The Tokyo members, including Japan national team GK Doi and DF Kaji, are missing suspended DF Moniwa, but the Olympic representatives who just joined two days ago participated energetically. The starting lineup features GK Shioda, with DF from the right: Tokunaga (special designated player), Jean, Fujiyama, Kanazawa, and MF with a double pivot of Konno and Miura, right MF Ishikawa, left MF special designated player Kurizawa, and Kajiyama as the attacking midfielder, with Lucas as the lone forward. The announcement of the Olympic representatives was made the day before (16th), and all four players from Tokyo made the squad, filling the team with a bright atmosphere. Since the Olympic members will temporarily leave the team after this match, the locker room before the game was filled with the spirit of "Let's win decisively here and secure our place in the qualifiers. And let's send off the Olympic members with good feelings." At 7 PM, as the kickoff whistle blew, the blue-red warriors, hungrier for victory than ever, burst onto the pitch at Kobe Wing Stadium.

Kurisawa scores the opening goal from the early rush!

　It was the first minute of the match. In the midfield, Kurisawa received the ball and passed it to Lucas, who was positioned at the top after dribbling. Lucas forcefully rushed between the opponent's defenders, appearing to be stopped by two defenders. However, the ball rolled towards Kurisawa, who was running with speed, in the midst of the chaos. As the ball entered the penalty area, Kurisawa swung his right foot and the ball grazed the opponent's goalkeeper's hand, finding the left corner of the goal. Kurisawa, with his quick movements before the opponent could input the data of him being the most dangerous person in Tokyo on that day, scored his valuable first goal in the J-League.

　In the following 2 minutes, Imakano received the opponent's clearance ball in a slightly left position in front of the goal, and skillfully evaded the opponent with exquisite control, unleashing a powerful left-footed volley. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the goalkeeper's fine save, but it was a wonderful shot that boldly aimed for the goal.

　After that, Tokyo's "attacking football" heated up even more. The call of "Kōgeki, Kōgeki, Hara Tokyo!" echoed from the goal end earlier than usual. In the midfield, Kurisawa appeared unpredictably and showed his abundant stamina by appearing in passing lanes, receiving the ball, and controlling the game by spreading it to the sides. From the right side, Ishikawa and Tokunaga made sharp movements to initiate crosses, while Ono repeatedly broke through the space behind the defensive line with aggressive forward runs from the left side, and Kanazawa supplied effective crosses by participating in the attack. They inflicted damage on the opponents like body blows.

Allowing an equalizing goal from a momentary gap, starting from scratch

　The rhythm was completely Tokyo's. In terms of defense, midfielder Miura crushed the opponent's player who came out aggressively with his intense play, and both center backs Jean and Fujiyama were stable.

　On the other hand, Kobe played in a 3-5-2 formation, with the top forward Hato playing as a lone striker, and below him, Fujimoto joined as a playmaker. The sides were spread wide on both left and right, but what stood out was the left defender Hojel working in a very high position. Tokyo had many moments where they were pushed back, but Kobe defended well and quickly regained possession, then played long balls to Hojel to launch counterattacks.

　In the 17th minute, when Kanazawa went up on the left side of Tokyo and passed to the vacant area, Fujiyama, who responded, mishandled the ball. Habato picked it up and rushed down the side. He put in a sharp cross with a shot-like quality from a deep position, and Hojel, who had come up from the opposite side, matched it with a right-footed shot. The ball shook Tokyo's goal net, and they were caught up in a tie.

　Tokyo began to counterattack again without being discouraged by this goal. In the 18th minute, Miura dribbled through the center and took a powerful shot with his left foot from outside the penalty area, but it was blocked by a fine save from the GK. In the following 19th minute, Lucas took a forceful shot while being surrounded by the DF line. In the 26th minute, Ishikawa took a free kick from the right side, and Konno headed it, but it missed the target. In the 27th minute, Konno broke free from Kurizawa's pass in the space on the left side and delivered a cross, but it narrowly missed. Furthermore, as the ball came out to the right side from a scramble, Kajiyama evaded Hoijer with a technical dribble and passed to the center. Kurizawa took a shot, but it went over the bar. From the flowing attack, the call of "Sexy, Tokyo!" came from behind the goal. In the 29th minute, Ishikawa caught up with Tokunaga's long pass on the right side at super speed and charged towards the goal with that momentum. He cut inside and took a powerful left-footed shot, but it hit the DF and was caught by the GK. In the 33rd minute, after defending on the right side, Ishikawa received the ball from Kurizawa at the front line and skillfully evaded two DF players marking him with a quick step, delivering a pinpoint pass to Kajiyama, who was free on the opposite side. Kanazawa overlapped behind him, and with perfect timing, a pass from Kajiyama went through for a cross. Although it was cleared, the flowing attack overwhelmed Kobe. In the 41st minute, Lucas kept the ball on the left side and passed to the approaching Kurizawa. The pass went to Miura, who was free in the center, and he took a shot. The powerful shot taken directly was deflected by a fine save from the GK, but Ishikawa picked it up on the right side and took a strong shot from a tight angle. This was also caught by the GK. Tokyo pushed hard with a nearly one-sided development but could not score an additional goal, and the match remained tied at 1-1 as it moved into the second half.

Lucas scores the winning goal!

　At halftime, Coach Hara gave instructions on how to start the second half, emphasizing fast balls (crosses) from the sides, diving into those areas, and taking care of Hojel. Kobe, who had no choice but to draw, came out fiercely from the start of the second half, but Tokyo also created chances with Imano's timely runs into open spaces.

　At the 50th minute, Kanazawa, who received a pass in the midfield, skillfully evaded the defender with light steps and passed it to Lucas in the penalty area. Lucas, upon receiving the pass, forcefully dribbled past the defender towards the goal and took a shot with his back to the goal. Although it was initially blocked, he quickly followed up on the loose ball in the crowded area and scored a goal! This valuable additional point was obtained from Lucas's powerful attack.

　Tokyo, who scored an eagerly awaited additional goal early in the second half, faced a decisive pinch immediately after the 51st minute. Hato kept the ball deep on Tokyo's left side and crossed it quickly and low to the center, reminiscent of Kobe's scoring scene in the first half. There, MF Sugo jumped in with a free shot, but the ball went well over the bar. Tokyo, who escaped the decisive pinch, continued to move the ball through Kurizawa and when it became the opponent's ball, Imakawa and Fujiyama aggressively took the ball with intense charges, advancing the game in their favor.

　After that, both teams, unable to create decisive moments, made changes in the 57th minute. Tokyo replaced Kajiyama with Baba in the attacking midfield position. On the other hand, Kobe also pulled back one of their defensive midfielders and brought in an attacking MF. With Baba's addition, who can deliver the ball behind the opponent, Tokyo increased their chances. In the 60th minute, Kurizawa broke through the left side and delivered a cross, but unfortunately, it was caught by the goalkeeper. In the 61st minute, Ishikawa broke through the left side with Baba's through pass and took a left-footed shot, but the ball went wide to the right of the goal. In the following 62nd minute, Ishikawa intercepted a feed error from the opposing defender. He carried the ball forward and took a right-footed shot from the middle, but it went wide to the left of the goal. In the 68th minute, Tokyo brought in MF Go in place of Miura, and in the 73rd minute, they replaced Lucas with FW Abe. Tokyo, wanting to secure an additional goal to decide the match, played all their cards. Meanwhile, Kobe also made consecutive substitutions in the 72nd and 77th minutes, changing to a super offensive formation with four forwards.

　Both teams fought fiercely, but the decisive moment never came. Tokyo, with Jean and Fujiyama at the center, remained focused until the end and did not allow any dangerous situations. On the contrary, towards the end of the game, Ishikawa received the ball on the right side, dribbled and passed it to Baba who was free in the center. Baba skillfully evaded the marker with a trap and aimed for a shot in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. However, the goalkeeper made a superb save and the ball did not go into the goal. In the end, the game ended with a score of 2-1. Tokyo extended their points to 12 and secured first place in Group D in the preliminary round with one match remaining.

[Player Comments]《Kurizawa》"I tried to bring out my play and strengths in the match, and I'm glad that it led to a good result. I'm surprised, but I'm happy that I was able to score a goal and contribute to the victory. I switch my mindset between university and FC Tokyo, but I think I'm playing well in both. Ideally, I want to be a player who can dribble and pass. I want to keep working hard to become that ideal player." 《Ishikawa》"Personally, I was exhausted at the end, but as a team, I think we held on well in a tough situation. It had been a while since I played 90 minutes after my injury, and it was tough, but I'm glad I could push through since it was the last match before the Olympics. I joined the team two days ago, and the high motivation of each player was inspiring. Although I will be leaving the team now, I want to keep a sense of urgency that when I return after the Olympics, I might not have a position. I want to raise my level and come back strong."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I thought Kobe would come out strong from the start since a draw wouldn't be good for them, and we also discussed pressing from the beginning. Everyone followed those instructions and I think we entered the match in a good shape. Kurizawa scored in a good position early on. Kurizawa can pass, break through with dribbling, and shoot. I knew he was capable of this level of performance, but he did particularly well today. The Olympic players returned just before the match, so we had little time to adjust, and the rhythm wasn't great due to the heat, but I'm happy we were able to secure 3 points and advance in the qualifiers under these circumstances. The Olympic players will be leaving after this match, but I want to use players in good condition and further enhance the team's strength. I am looking forward to the competition among the remaining players. Including tomorrow's satellite match, I want to boldly use players who make a strong appeal in the next Reysol match."

[Kobe Hasek's press conference summary] "First of all, congratulations to FC Tokyo for advancing in the qualifiers. Today's match was FC Tokyo's game, and they played good football for the full 90 minutes. FC Tokyo's players have high abilities, especially their midfield strength, which dominated the center of the field more than us. We only managed to get behind their defense line once. It was a decisive chance to equalize at 1-2, but we couldn't convert it, which is painful. However, we still have a little possibility of advancing in the Nabisco Cup qualifiers. We want to switch our mindset and give our best until the end."