# 2023 Emperor's Cup final

The 2023 Emperor's Cup final was an association football match between Kawasaki Frontale and Kashiwa Reysol on 9 December 2023 at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. It was the 103rd edition of the Emperor's Cup, organised by the Japan Football Association (JFA). Kawasaki Frontale were playing in their third Emperor's Cup final, following being champions in 2020 and runners-up in 2016. Kashiwa Reysol were also playing in their third Emperor's Cup final since they lifted the trophy in 2012 and were runners-up in 2008.
Hiroyuki Kimura was the referee for the match, which was played in front of 62,637 spectators. In an evenly fought contest where resolute defending prevailed, the match ended 0–0 in normal time and the deadlock was still not broken in 30 minutes of extra time. Kawasaki Frontale ended-up winning the subsequent penalty shoot-out 8–7, with Kawasaki goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong scoring his teams final spot-kick and going on to save the penalty of Kashiwa goalkeeper Kenta Matsumoto.
As winners, Kawasaki Frontale automatically qualified for the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League.

## Teams

| Team | League | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
| Kawasaki Frontale | J1 League | 2 (2016, 2020) |
| Kashiwa Reysol | J1 League | 6 (1963, 1972, 1973, 1975, 2008, 2012) |

## Route to the final

The tournament consisted of 88 teams in a knockout format. The first round contained 48 teams made up of 47 prefectural cup winners and one amateur team (Honda FC). The second round then introduced the 18 J1 League clubs and the 22 J2 League clubs. At this round, both of the finalists entered the tournament.
| Kawasaki Frontale | Kawasaki Frontale | Round | Kashiwa Reysol | Kashiwa Reysol |
| Opponent | Result | 2023 Emperor's Cup | Opponent | Result |
| Bye | Bye | First round | Bye | Bye |
| Tochigi City FC (KSL) | 3–1 | Second round | Yamanashi Gakuin Pegasus | 7–1 |
| Mito HollyHock (J2) | 2–1 | Third round | Tokushima Vortis (J2) | 2–0 |
| Kochi United SC (JFL) | 1–0 | Round of 16 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (J1) | 1–0 |
| Albirex Niigata (J1) | 2–2 (4–3p) | Quarter-finals | Nagoya Grampus (J1) | 2–0 |
| Avispa Fukuoka (J1) | 4–2 | Semi-finals | Roasso Kumamoto (J2) | 4–0 |

## Match
### Details

Jung Sung-ryong :
| DF | 13 | Miki Yamane |
| DF | 3 | Takuma Ominami | | 87' |
| DF | 31 | Kazuya Yamamura |
| DF | 2 | Kyohei Noborizato |
| MF | 8 | Kento Tachibanada (c) |
| MF | 14 | Yasuto Wakizaka | 55' | 87' |
| MF | 16 | Tatsuki Seko | | 64' |
| FW | 41 | Akihiro Ienaga |
| FW | 33 | Taisei Miyashiro | | 64' |
| FW | 9 | Leandro Damião | | 77' |
| Substitutes: |||
| GK | 99 | Naoto Kamifukumoto |
| DF | 4 | Jesiel | | 87' |
| MF | 6 | João Schmidt | | 87' |
| MF | 30 | Yusuke Segawa | | 64' |
| FW | 17 | Daiya Tono | | 64' |
| FW | 18 | Bafétimbi Gomis | | 106' |
| FW | 11 | Yu Kobayashi | 106' | 77' |
| Manager: |||
| Toru Oniki ||||
Kenta Matsumoto :
| DF | 16 | Eiichi Katayama |
| DF | 50 | Yugo Tatsuta |
| DF | 4 | Taiyo Koga (c) |
| DF | 34 | Takumi Tsuchiya | | 90+3' |
| MF | 5 | Tomoki Takamine | 53' | 90+3' |
| MF | 6 | Keiya Shiihashi | | 104' |
| MF | 14 | Tomoya Koyamatsu | | 77' |
| FW | 10 | Matheus Sávio |
| FW | 11 | Kota Yamada | | 77' |
| FW | 19 | Mao Hosoya |
| Substitutes: |||
| GK | 21 | Masato Sasaki |
| DF | 2 | Hiromu Mitsumaru |
| DF | 24 | Naoki Kawaguchi | | 90+3' |
| MF | 41 | Keiya Sento | | 90+3' |
| MF | 28 | Sachiro Toshima | | 77' |
| FW | 45 | Ota Yamamoto | | 77' |
| FW | 9 | Yuki Muto | | 104' |
| Manager: |||
| Masami Ihara ||||
| Assistant referees: Jun Mihara Kota Watanabe Fourth official: Akihiko Ikeuchi Video assistant referee: Jumpei Iida Assistant video assistant referee: Takumi Takagi | Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes. Maximum of five substitutions. |

### Statistics

Overall :
| Statistic | Kawasaki Frontale | Kashiwa Reysol |
| Goals scored | 0 | 0 |
| Total shots | 7 | 22 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 13 |
| Saves | 13 | 4 |
| Corner kicks | 2 | 8 |
| Possession | 53% | 47% |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |