Restarting the Nabisco Cup, stop Verdy's momentum and secure victory!

　The Nabisco Cup resumes. In the 4th round of the qualifying league, Tokyo Verdy will face Verdy at home. Tokyo is currently in 2nd place in Group B with 4 points. Verdy, who is in 4th place with 1 point, also has a chance to advance to the finals, so it is a crucial match that cannot be lost.

　During this period, Nagatomo, Konno, and Kajiyama are absent due to national team activities. Akamine is also absent due to a knee injury. Therefore, Bruno QUADROS will be in the midfield, and Murahara will make his first start of the season as the right-back, with Tokunaga moving to the left-back position. In addition, Hirayama, who demonstrated good form in the midweek practice match, and Emerson, who came on as a substitute in the previous league match against Iwata, will both start. It is the first time that all three foreign players have played together. Furthermore, Kanda has made his first appearance in the squad this season.

　Verdy, on the other hand, had a series of defeats in the early stages of both the league and Nabisco, but in the league they have achieved 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the last 6 matches, improving their position. Coach Jofuku also emphasizes the caution, saying "FW Hukki and Leandro, MF Diego attack, and the remaining 7 players maintain balance. Not only is the attacking line strong, but each player's role is clear, making it difficult for the defense to break."

　This week, the first key point is to stop the Verdy's attacking lineup centered around FW Hukki. It is necessary to thoroughly defend the coordination of one player initiating and one player covering. In terms of attack, Verdy's fast break is powerful, so it will be difficult if it becomes a counter-attack battle. We want to break down Verdy's defense by calmly connecting passes and starting from the sides to create a block.

　The rain stopped before the game, but it was humid at Ajinomoto Stadium. The "Tokyo Derby" that cannot be lost even in the Nabisco Cup started with Verdy's kickoff at 15:04.

Bruno QUADROS takes the lead with a powerful middle shot at the start!

　The game started off with a bang. In the 2nd minute, Bruno QUADROS in the midfield passed the ball to Asari in the opponent's territory. Bruno QUADROS advanced forward and received a pass from the left by Hayu. He dribbled the ball towards the edge of the penalty area and confidently struck it with his right foot. The powerful shot pierced the top right corner of the net, and it's a goal! Bruno QUADROS scores his first goal of the season and takes an early lead.

　Afterwards, the team, driven by Bruno QUADROS's aggressive attitude, approached Verdy goal with a dynamic play. In the 4th minute, a quick pass was sent to Cabore in the front line, and Cabore dribbled through the center. Despite being surrounded by two opposing defenders just before the area, he was not easily dispossessed, and Hayu, who followed up on the loose ball, took a shot from inside the right area. In the 6th minute, Cabore floated a pass to the front line. Bruno QUADROS ran into the area to intercept the loose ball from the opposing defender and took a shot. However, both shots were slightly off target.

　Verdy, on the other hand, tries to create chances focusing on set plays. In the 10th minute, FW Leandro's dribble was stopped by a foul, giving a free kick from the right side of the midfield. FW Hooki directly aimed for this free kick, but it was blocked by the Tokyo DF wall. In the 13th minute, Verdy had a free kick from the left side. DF Hattori took a shot from the ball that MF Ono sent to the front line, but it went wide. In the 23rd minute, DF Tsuchiya shot after clearing Verdy's left corner kick, and the ball ended up at the feet of DF Nasu near the goal. DF Nasu immediately turned towards the goal and took a shot, but Shioda caught it. In the 28th minute, Shioda deflected Verdy's free kick, and it escaped to a corner kick. From DF Hattori's right corner kick, MF Fukunishi had a header shot near the goal, but it went over the bar.

　When Verdy defended the set play, in the 29th minute, Fujiyama's feed was connected by Hirayama, and Hayabusa → Cabore cut inside from the left side, between the opponent's DF and GK with the last pass. Bruno QUADROS jumped in here, but was blocked by a good save with one hand by Verdy GK Doi.... Immediately after, from Emerson → Mukuhara's right cross, Hirayama made a decisive header, but hit the bar.... With quick attacks switching, Cabore and Emerson created chances for additional goals and reached decisive moments, but were unable to score.

　In the 39th minute, Verdy targeted the back of Tokyo DF and MF Sugawara was given a through pass behind Saitoh. Leandro, the FW who broke free in front of the goal, took a decisive shot but narrowly missed to the right, avoiding danger, and ended the first half with a one-point lead.

Verdy withstands the counterattack and secures a comfortable victory with goals from Sawara and Kondo

　In the second half, Tokyo took control of the pace and attacked. In the 53rd minute, Mokuhara advanced to the goal line and crossed from the right. Hayabusa in the left area dropped the ball to Emerson in the center... creating a decisive opportunity, but Emerson's shot went over the bar. In the 61st minute, Kabore connected from Fujiyama's intercept and played a long pass to the front line. Hirayama received the ball and dribbled into the area, but was brought down by the tough check from the defender and couldn't finish. Verdy also tried to find rhythm by taking daring shots even from a distance, and amidst the intense attacking and defending, Kondo was substituted in for Hirayama in the 65th minute.

　In the 66th minute immediately after, Emerson launched a counterattack, dribbled from the right side to the center, and passed to Tokunaga who was free on the left side. Tokunaga brought the ball into the left area and sent a lofted pass to the front of the goal, and Kondo made a header! He created a decisive opportunity, but the ball went over the goal, missing a big chance... In the 73rd minute, Verdy left back Hattori overlapped and tried to cross, but Mokuhara cut it off. However, the subsequent pass went back to DF Hattori. It seemed like a chance was being created, but Emerson dashed back, sandwiched Mokuhara, and regained possession.

　Tokyo, who had been defending by coordinating and maintaining a high defensive awareness, began to lose their stamina as time passed, allowing Verdy to dominate. However, in the 76th minute, Kanazawa was substituted for Bruno QUADROS and placed directly in the midfield. They fought hard, especially in the defensive line, and hardly allowed Verdy to create any decisive opportunities. In the 79th minute, they fouled Verdy's midfielder Fukunishi, giving a free kick just outside the right area. This is the same spot where FW Hukki scored in the league match. Today, FW Hukki also aimed for the goal, but the shot was solidly saved by Shibata.

　80 minutes, this time Cabore is brought down on the left side, and Tokyo earns a free kick. Tokunaga takes the free kick, and Sato on the far side heads it perfectly! Sato finally scores his first J1 goal and adds another point. In the 84th minute, Ishikawa is substituted for Hayashi to regain momentum. In the 88th minute, Tokyo earns a free kick on the left side of their own half, and Tokunaga passes it to Cabore on the opponent's side near the left sideline. Emerson in the middle receives the through pass and Kondo jumps out in front of the goal, leaving the opposing defenders behind, facing the goalkeeper one-on-one. And with his left foot, he shoots the ball past the goalkeeper Doi's legs and scores the third goal.

　In the end, Tokyo had 11 shots compared to Verdy's 17 shots, but Mokuhara, Sahara, Fujiyama, and Tokunaga fulfilled their defensive roles perfectly and did not allow freedom in the flow. Bruno QUADROS, Sahara, and Kondo all scored their first goals of the season, and they kept the opposition from scoring, winning the Tokyo showdown at home in the Nabisco Cup with a comfortable victory.

　【Player Comment】《Bruno QUADROS》"I wanted to make the most of the opportunity to play, both individually and as a team. I think I had a good performance and a good game. When I received a pass from Hayu, I saw an open space in front of me. I took a chance and was able to score, so I'm happy about that. Playing as a midfielder, I have to be attentive not only to the front but also to the back, and I have to keep passing the ball forward. Today, the three players in front of Verdy were strong, and I respect them. So while being conscious of defense, I tried to attack when there was space in front. I think we were able to cover for each other, with one player going up while the other two covered, without all three midfielders going up at once."《Sahara》"I didn't want to hear people say 'we lost' when the national team players were absent. Instead of defending alone against Verdy's attacking line, I focused on defending with 2-3 players working together. (About my first J1 goal) Tokunaga sent me a good ball. We had opportunities from set plays before, so I was aiming for it."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "Three players from each representative team were absent, and a new competition began within the team. We wanted to turn that into a positive and made changes to the lineup. The players who played today had prepared well in Kodaira. They also felt the fatigue intensely, and we used them with the hope that it would become energy. They responded to our expectations very well. However, if we had scored one more goal in the first half, it would have been a little easier. Towards the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, there was less time with the ball, and fatigue set in. We need to find a way to create time for ourselves to rest while possessing the ball, by repositioning and changing sides. Creating time to lower the heart rate is a challenge. Bruno Quadros is a player who knows when it's time to compete. He excels at sensing when it's a chance. If he has the stamina and his technique doesn't waver, he can do the job up to that point. We wanted him to score one more goal, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a good save, and we couldn't score. Nevertheless, he can smell those kinds of opportunities. (Do you separate the roles of players who sweat a lot and players who do creative work?) The point of selection is to prioritize combinations. Of course, if the quality of the anchor-like player is high, we can play a different kind of soccer by facing forward from the bottom of the midfield. In that sense, the quality of on-the-ball play and the ability to change decisions at the last moment are also important. It's not easy to find a player who has all of that, can balance defense, and control space in Japan... So, I'm thinking about combinations of players who can control space, cut through courses, and spread the ball. Murohara has a particular strength in defense. Of course, there are still challenges, but he understood well the meaning of using him. Before the game, I told him, 'Be grateful to Hukki. You can play today because he's here.' That means to show his own strengths and not be afraid of offensive challenges. I think he bravely took on that challenge. Each player has their own strengths, but at the same time, there are also challenges. If each player can improve to overcome those challenges, the team can level up even more."

　[Verdy - Coach Hashigaya's Press Conference Summary] "We couldn't switch from last week's J-League. The motivation didn't rise. We got confused about who was marking Bruno QUADROS at the start of the first half. We conceded a goal from one chance and our game plan was disrupted. I think we had a bad pattern of attacking wastefully and getting countered. We need to balance the three forwards and the other seven players more. The forwards need to drop back and the midfielders need to push up. In the second half, we were able to calmly attack by making the midfield a box, but ultimately, the one goal we conceded in the first half weighed heavily."