It's a home game, win and secure your spot in the Final Round!

　Tokyo, which is currently leading Group B with 10 points, will secure a spot in the final tournament if they earn 1 point this round. Even a draw or a loss by Shimizu S-Pulse, who is in second place, will still allow Tokyo to advance to the qualifying round. However, this is the last home game before the Club World Cup. Tokyo wants to win comfortably, secure first place, and welcome the upcoming quarterfinals at home.

　Verdy 1969, who has 4 points and is in 3rd place, also has a chance to advance in the tournament. Naturally, they will come to win with all their might. It will be a crucial match for both teams.

　The starting and substitute members have remained unchanged since Sec. 3, and the kickoff took place at 19:00 at Japan National Stadium.

Despite overwhelming Verdy, they were unable to score a finish.

　From the start of the first half, Tokyo attacks Verdy's goal. In the 2nd minute, Kelly and Fukuda combine for a one-two and penetrate the penalty area. In the 7th and 9th minutes, Fukuda and Fujiyama send sharp crosses into the goalmouth, winning consecutive corner kicks. In the 11th minute, Hoshi traps a pass from behind in the penalty area with his chest and shoots. In the 13th minute, Miyazawa presses in the midfield and steals the ball, then takes a middle shot. In the 15th minute, Kelly, Hoshi, and Miyazawa connect for a quick attack, and in the 16th minute, Fukuda breaks through behind the defense from Shimodaira's pass, overwhelming Verdy. However, Verdy's defense line is solid and they cannot easily break through the goal.

　On the other hand, Verdy, with FW Ewerton completely withdrawn into the midfield, tries to build from there, but even if they manage to steal the ball in the final line, they become prey to Tokyo's press and are unable to connect passes.

　In the 19th minute, Tsuchi caught Verdy's free kick and counterattacked. Toda made a run after receiving a pass from Hoshi, but unfortunately, it was offside. In the 23rd minute, Fukuda stole the ball after a tough check in front of the goal and took a shot, but it was off target. In the 29th minute, Ito crossed from a deep position on the right side, but the opponent's defender cleared it. Star closed in on the ball that went high in the penalty area and took a volley shot from just before the right goal area, but unfortunately, it hit the goalkeeper's face. In the 34th minute, Kelly headed the ball from a right corner kick, but it narrowly missed the left goal. Tokyo had momentum up until the goal, but they couldn't finish as they fell into Verdy's slow rhythm.

　Verdy, in the 39th minute, FW Hiramoto broke through the left side. MF Yamada aimed for a shot from a distant position after clearing the cross, but this was his first shot. In the 43rd minute, MF Soma crossed from a corner kick, and Hiramoto shot the loose ball, but both shots missed the goal.

　Tokyo's GK punches out a high-precision CK from Miyazawa in the 44th minute. Kelly pushes in the loose ball, but the opposing DF blocks it just before it goes in. Unable to make the most of the chance, the first half ends with a score of 0-0.

Concede the first goal with Edmundo's penalty kick

　Tokyo, which did not lose its momentum in the second half, went on the attack. In the 46th minute, they stole a corner kick from Hoshi's cross, and in the 49th minute, Fukuda stole the ball and launched a counterattack. However, Kelly's cross was cleared by Verdy's defenders, and neither attempt could be finished. And gradually, as the attacking line and the defensive line began to open up, space was created, allowing Verdy to dominate.

　However, in the 52nd minute, Edmundo's free kick was cleared by the defender. The team also defended well against two corner kicks, and in the 53rd minute, forward Marquinhos managed to break through the defense, but Itoh made a brave stop. In the immediate 55th minute, Marquinhos once again broke through the defense and faced Tsuchihi in a one-on-one situation inside the penalty area, taking advantage of a momentary lapse during a throw-in. Tsuchihi made a foul and awarded a penalty kick to Verdy. In the 57th minute, Edmundo converted the penalty kick, giving Tokyo the first goal against them in the Nabisco Cup.

With Amaral and Miyazawa's passionate goal, a magnificent come-from-behind victory!!

　Tokyo, which had kept a clean sheet for four consecutive matches, often feels down when the record is broken. However, Tokyo was different this time. In the 58th minute, Amaral was substituted for Toda, and the counterattack mood increased. Immediately after that, Amaral and the opponent's defender competed for a free kick from the right side, and Jean headed the ball that flowed. The ball shook the goal net, but unfortunately, it was ruled as a foul and disallowed.

　After that, there were scenes where the timing of the press was slightly off and Verdy was attacked, but surpassing this, in the 64th minute, Kaji received Kelly's pass on the right side and crossed it in front of the goal. Amaral hit this ball with a powerful header and it's a goal! With this equalizer from the reliable ace at a crucial moment, the game returned to square one.

　There was no thought among FC Tokyo players that a draw would be acceptable. In the 69th minute, Fukuda scored a header from Miyazawa's free kick from the right side. In the 73rd minute, Jean aimed for a free kick just outside the penalty area, which was obtained due to the opponent goalkeeper's handball.

　However, Verdy also fought back fiercely as S-Pulse was leading at this point, and a draw would leave them with no chance. In the 71st minute, they substituted Hiramoto with the speedy midfielder Sakurai. The match quickly turned into a back-and-forth battle.

　In the 74th minute, Tokyo substituted Sato for Hoshi and approached the game with a winning posture. In the 77th minute, Fukuda headed a cross from Kaji to the right side. In the 78th minute, Amaral received a pass from Shimodaira and took a shot, but both were caught by the GK. However, Tokyo did not relax their attacking posture and in the 87th minute, they connected a kick from Doi and Kelly brought the ball into the space on the right side. Kelly passed to Kaji who had moved up to support, seeing that the Verdy DF was sticking to the goal front, Kaji passed to the space near the penalty arc. Miyazawa, who had run in, swung his left foot without hesitation, and the ball pierced the goalkeeper Takakuwa's outstretched hand with tremendous force and stuck into the left corner of the goal!!　

　After Miyazawa scored a goal that seemed to be filled with his "feelings" for the ball, Verdy took the lead. In the 88th minute, rookie Maeda was substituted for Fukuda. They successfully defended against Verdy's fierce counterattack and the game ended.

　With a passionate come-from-behind victory, we secured 3 points and advanced to the top of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league. Furthermore, although we still have the final match away at Shimizu in 2 days, we have remained undefeated in our home games this season and will enter the J-League break period.

[Player Miyazawa's Comment] "Today, I wanted to win and secure first place, so I'm glad that I scored a goal at that time and won. The key to victory was not panicking even when we were scored against. Our goal is to win the championship. I want to believe in the possibility and do my best. I also want to win on the 12th and continue in the league."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I told the players to go for the win in order to advance in first place in the qualifiers. However, even though we created good opportunities, we couldn't score in the final moments. In the midst of that, we were caught on the counterattack and allowed Marcinho to be free in the penalty area. Due to the demanding schedule, we couldn't maintain a high press from the front line, so naturally there were more scenes where we had to temporarily retreat and play at a slower pace, but the balance has improved. Therefore, our challenge is to score goals. Sometimes we lack power in crucial moments, so we want to improve our accuracy. Even when we conceded the first goal, the players didn't collapse and had the desire to recover. Amaral and Yukihiko also performed well as substitutes, and Miyazawa has shown steady growth while playing the full match. However, we want to play matches and football that will make the fans come and enjoy. For that, we still need more finishing ability."

[Summary of Verdy Lori's press conference] "It was a very fast-paced game with both teams showing fighting spirit. FC Tokyo led the game until the 30th minute, but spaces opened up and Verdy found their rhythm, creating decisive chances. In the second half, they maintained the same pace and rhythm, leading to goals. FC Tokyo used their benchwork after conceding a goal and had good options. Amorao was strong in aerial battles and we had to be careful. We tried to counterattack with no other options, but we had chances from good passing plays. However, we ended up conceding a long-range shot from the opponent's counterattack. Congratulations to FC Tokyo for capitalizing on their decisive chances."