Give it your best and win in the final home game before the break!

　The 5th day of the Nabisco Cup qualifiers will welcome Urawa Reds at home. Although they have suffered 4 consecutive losses so far and have no chance of advancing to the qualifiers, Coach Gallo declared that he will approach the match with the best players in their current condition. The players also stated, "We cannot continue to lose like this" and "We will not waste our time on unnecessary matches in order to improve our level." They aim to achieve victory in the last home game before the break, while maintaining high motivation.

　Suzuki is suspended due to accumulated warnings. Kanazawa, who has recovered from injury, will make his first appearance of the season as a left back. Ozawa will also start for the first time and will play in midfield alongside Lucas. Imano and Inoha will form a double pivot, while Toda and Kawaguchi will lead the attack as a two-striker formation. The team will challenge Urawa with a 4-4-2 formation, with the midfield arranged in a box shape.

　Urawa, on the other hand, has already secured their spot in the final tournament with 4 consecutive wins in the Nabisco Cup. Japan national team's DF Tsuboi, Mitsushu, and MF Ono are absent, and MF Ponte is out due to injury. As a result, the defense consists of Uchidate, Tou, and Horiuchi. In the midfield, Sakai and Hasebe are playing as defensive midfielders, with Hirakawa on the right, Souma on the left, and Yamada as the attacking midfielder. Up top, Nagai and Washington are leading the 3-5-2 formation. The match kicked off at 7pm at the rainy Ajinomoto Stadium.

Lucas, leveraging the energy of Ozawa's movement, rides the momentum

　From the beginning, there was a fierce competition and a back-and-forth battle. Tokyo was the first to seize a big chance. In the 8th minute, Tokunaga on the right passed directly to Lucas in the center, who then sent a through pass to the front line. Ozawa followed and successfully broke through to the right area, but his shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 12th minute, Urawa also had a chance when FW Washington played a post-play and right MF Hirakawa crossed. MF Yamada, who received the ball freely in the left area, took a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Shioda.

　At 15 minutes, Urawa DF Tatsuo TOUROU tried to advance by passing MF Yamada with a one-two inside the Tokyo team, but Lucas quickly returned and cut it off. At 20 minutes, Inoha -> Ozawa's pass, Tokunaga sprinted down the right side with a dribble. There was a collision with the pursuing Urawa DF, and it seemed like a corner kick was obtained, but it was a Urawa goal kick. Although neither team created a decisive opportunity, the intense offensive and defensive continued.

　Among them, utilizing the physicality of Ozawa and Lucas, Tokyo dominated the game. On the right, Tokunaga boldly attempted breakthroughs, while Kanazawa on the left calmly connected passes and joined the attack at the right moment. Up front, Toda received the ball and drew out the movements of Ozawa and Lucas. In the 26th minute, Tokyo launched a wave-like attack with Ozawa, Tokunaga, and Lucas as the starting point, putting pressure on the Urawa area, but the shot was not successful. In the final moments, Lucas took a shot from outside the left area after a throw-in, but it went over the crossbar.

　In the 28th minute, Jean took a direct free kick from about 25m to the right of the goal, but it curved to the left. In the 39th minute, Ozawa took a powerful shot from inside the opponent's half, but it missed to the right. In the 42nd minute, Toda intercepted the Urawa ball and sprinted towards the goal. In a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, the opposing goalkeeper made a save as he came out. However, Lucas picked up the loose ball and passed it to Kawaguchi in the left area, but the shot was once again blocked by the goalkeeper. They couldn't convert their chances and ended the first half with a 0-0 score.

The intense battle filled with determination ends in a scoreless draw

　Tokyo, who showed a passionate play in the second half as well. In the beginning, Tokunaga breaks through the right side. He sends a fast ground pass to the front of the goal from a deep position, but it doesn't reach Kawaguchi who was waiting. In the 47th minute, Ozawa heads Tokunaga's cross, but he can't meet it properly. In the 56th minute, Urawa's right MF Hirakawa attempts to dribble into the area, and the ball falls in front of free MF Yamada on the right side. This pinch is saved by Shioda's bold jump, and they successfully defend without losing focus.

　In the 58th minute, Lucas advanced with a dribble and took a shot with speed! He had a precise shot on target, but it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper and escaped to a corner kick. Tokyo today had a good balance in the midfield, and after winning the ball, Imakano also boldly attacked. In the 70th minute, he intercepted in the opponent's territory, and Imakano sprinted towards the goal! He attracted the approaching Urawa defenders and sent a final pass to Kawaguchi who came up from the left. Kawaguchi took an accurate shot, but once again it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper... Then, they persistently picked up the loose ball, and Ozawa took a middle shot, but it was right in front of the opponent's goalkeeper. They continued to attack and picked up the second ball well, but they couldn't convert the chance into a goal.

　In the 75th minute, Lucas boldly shot from outside the right area, but it went way over. In the 82nd minute, Imano tried to shoot from the middle with speed, but the opponent's defender closed in on him. In the 84th minute, Lucas -> Kanazawa attacked inside, and Toda sent a final pass, but it was cut off by the opponent's defender. Tokunaga picked up the loose ball and crossed it, Lucas headed it but it didn't hit. In the 85th minute, Toda ran into the ball that was loose in front of the goal and took a daring shot despite the difficult position. It was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper and resulted in a corner kick. Ozawa's right corner kick was cleared by the Urawa defender... We continued our strong attacks until the end, but we couldn't score a goal. In the end, we played a passionate game both in attack and defense, and although Urawa's attack was shut out, we couldn't win the intense battle. We only managed to get 1 point.

　【Player Comments】《Ozawa》"Today, everyone fought harder than in the last home game. While aiming for possession soccer, I tried to simply pass and dive into the goal area. I was able to play for a long time as a starter, but my decision-making was still slow, and I couldn't fully grasp the rhythm. I'm disappointed that we couldn't achieve a good result. I believe we must win at home, so I want to make sure we can do that. To achieve this, I need to be able to convert even the few chances we get. I wish I could have been more involved in creating chances and taken more shots..." 《Kanazawa》"There were times when I was concerned about my injury, but being able to play for 90 minutes gave me confidence. Today, the coach was strict about confirming the basics, such as intensity in one-on-one situations. I think I was able to do that. I tried to maintain balance and receive the ball in good positions to attack. This season, I aim to value the ball, increase possession, and connect short passes to reach the goal, and I feel we are getting there. My desire to play in matches has also grown stronger, so I want to give my all in practice and prepare well."

　[Summary of Coach Garo's Press Conference] "I think we were able to have a high-level, good game. In the second half, we were able to control the game better and had chances. At halftime, I told the players, 'This match will be decided by a narrow margin,' but we both fought without losing focus, and it became a good game. Today's midfield was compact, and we marked fiercely against a strong Urawa. Not only did Toda flow into space, but he also showed good play receiving the ball up front, which I thought was good. (Did you only use one substitution?) I didn't consider substitutions because we had a good flow and shape. I checked Ozawa's level of fatigue, and he said, 'I'm not tired,' but I thought it was the limit, so I substituted him for Akamine. Kanazawa was used at a timing that coincided with his return from injury and Suzuki's suspension. He connected passes without mistakes and showed good covering from good positioning. Shigeno also played well. I think he has the ability to be in the Japan national team, but the coach who selected him must have his own thoughts, so I want to respect that. I talked with Shigeno about 'aiming for four years from now,' and I think he is able to switch his mindset."

　[Summary of Urawa Coach Buchwald's Press Conference] "We had already secured our place in the knockout stage, but we wanted to advance as group leaders, so we really wanted to win. Conversely, I think FC Tokyo came in with the mindset to win here and gain momentum since they hadn't been in good form. That was evident from their aggressive and passionate play. The wet pitch today favored the attacking side, but the reason no goals were scored was due to the efforts of both teams' defenses. If either team had scored even one goal, the match could have developed more aggressively. Although the result was 0-0, it was an interesting match. I am satisfied with the players' fighting spirit, but I would have liked them to play a bit more precisely in taking advantage of counter-attack opportunities. Today, MF Ponte and MF Ono were both unable to play. I believe the absence of MF Ponte, who can score and assist, had an impact. However, Urawa's strength lies in the fact that when someone is missing, other players step up to fill that gap. This was proven when we won against Yokohama FM even without Ponte for about 60 minutes. So, while we ended in a draw today, the absence of those players is not an excuse. The lack of decisive chances was due to our slower transitions between offense and defense than usual. Even when there was space after winning the ball, our transitions were slow, and the space was closed down. Even when we tried to push forward with speed, we struggled to connect it to our attacks."