# 2022 Emperor's Cup final

The 2022 Emperor's Cup final was the final of the 2022 Emperor's Cup, the 102nd edition of the Emperor's Cup. Ventforet Kofu played their first-ever Emperor's Cup final, as their past best performances were defeats in the quarter-finals in 2006, 2013, 2018, and 2019. It was also their first-ever elite cup final, as Kofu never got past the quarter-finals in the J.League Cup. Sanfrecce Hiroshima had their sixth major chance to win the trophy in the J.League era, having qualified for the final five times; in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2007, and 2013, losing in all five finals. As J2 League's Ventforet Kofu became one of the finalists, this 2022 final was the seventh of the competition to feature at least one team from the second tier of Japanese football, with a J2 League team appearing in the competition's final for the first time in 1980.
After the match, leaving as the final winners of the 2022 Emperor's Cup, Ventforet Kofu were granted the right to qualify for the 2023–24 AFC Champions League. For the second consecutive time, a club playing in the second division played in a continental competition, repeating Jeonnam Dragons' feat at the 2022 AFC Champions League.

## Teams

| Team | League | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
| Ventforet Kofu | J2 League | 0 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | J1 League | 14 (1954, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1978, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2007, 2013) |

## Road to the final

| Ventforet Kofu | Ventforet Kofu | Round | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| Opponent | Result | 2022 Emperor's Cup | Opponent | Result |
| Bye | Bye | First round | Bye | Bye |
| International Pacific University (CSL) | 5–1 | Second round | Honda Lock SC (JFL) | 2–0 |
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (J1) | 2–1 | Third round | Yokohama FC (J2) | 5–0 |
| Sagan Tosu (J1) | 3–1 | Round of 16 | Thespakusatsu Gunma (J2) | 1–0 |
| Avispa Fukuoka (J1) | 2–1 (a.e.t) | Quarter-finals | Cerezo Osaka (J1) | 2–1 |
| Kashima Antlers (J1) | 1–0 | Semi-finals | Kyoto Sanga (J1) | 2–1 |

## Format

The final was played in a single leg format. It was hurried to be played in mid-October, instead of January, as usual, due to the schedule conflict with the realization and holding period of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Should the match remained tied after regulation time, extra time would have been added. Would it necessary, a penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning team.

## Details

| Ventforet Kofu | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| GK | 1 | Shuhei Kawata |
| DF | 2 | Hidehiro Sugai |
| DF | 5 | Niki Urakami | 112' |
| DF | 23 | Masahiro Sekiguchi |
| DF | 40 | Eduardo Mancha |
| MF | 7 | Sho Araki (c) | 66' |
| MF | 18 | Yoshiki Torikai | 62' |
| MF | 24 | Riku Yamada | 112' |
| MF | 26 | Toshiki Ishikawa |
| MF | 41 | Motoki Hasegawa | 101' |
| FW | 9 | Kazushi Mitsuhira | 62' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 31 | Kosuke Okanishi |
| DF | 4 | Hideomi Yamamoto | 112' |
| DF | 22 | Riku Nozawa | 66' |
| DF | 32 | Foguete | 112' |
| MF | 20 | Nagi Matsumoto | 62' |
| FW | 10 | Willian Lira | 62' |
| FW | 29 | Getúlio | 101' |
| Manager: ||
| Tatsuma Yoshida ||
| GK | 38 | Keisuke Osako |
| DF | 3 | Tsukasa Shiotani |
| DF | 4 | Hayato Araki |
| DF | 19 | Sho Sasaki (c) |
| MF | 25 | Yusuke Chajima | 70' |
| MF | 27 | Takumu Kawamura |
| MF | 7 | Gakuto Notsuda | 79' |
| MF | 18 | Yoshifumi Kashiwa | 70' |
| MF | 10 | Tsukasa Morishima | 32' 46' |
| MF | 39 | Makoto Mitsuta |
| FW | 9 | Douglas Vieira | 46' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 22 | Goro Kawanami |
| DF | 2 | Yuki Nogami | 70' |
| DF | 21 | Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi | 91' |
| MF | 14 | Ezequiel | 46' 91' |
| MF | 17 | Taishi Matsumoto | 70' |
| FW | 13 | Nassim Ben Khalifa | 46' |
| FW | 20 | Pieros Sotiriou | 79' |
| Manager: ||
| Michael Skibbe ||