# 2016 J.League Cup

The 2016 J.League Cup (also known as the 2016 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, later changed to 2016 J.League YBC Levain Cup for sponsoring purposes) was the 41st edition of the most prestigious Japanese football league cup tournament and the 24th edition under the current J.League Cup format.

## Format

Teams from the J1 League took part in the tournament. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Gamba Osaka, Urawa Red Diamonds and FC Tokyo were given a bye to the quarter-finals due to qualification in the 2016 AFC Champions League. The remaining 14 teams started from the group stage, where they were divided into two groups of seven. The group winners and the runners-up of each group qualified for the quarter-final along with the four teams which qualified for the AFC Champions League.

## Group stage

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VIS | ARD | VEN | BEL | JÚB | ANT | GRA |
| 1 | Vissel Kobe | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 16 | Knock-out stage | | 1–1 | | | | 4–1 | 4–0 |
| 2 | Omiya Ardija | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 14 | Knock-out stage | | | | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Ventforet Kofu | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 8 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | | | |
| 4 | Shonan Bellmare | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 7 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | | | 0–0 | | |
| 5 | Júbilo Iwata | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | | 1–2 | | 1–0 | | | | 1–3 |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 4 | | | | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | | |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 4 | | | | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 1–3 | |

#### Matches
### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | FMA | AVI | FRO | REY | VEG | ALB | SAG |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 11 | Knock-out stage | | 2–1 | | 1–3 | | | 1–0 |
| 2 | Avispa Fukuoka | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 9 | Knock-out stage | | | | 2–2 | | 4–2 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Kawasaki Frontale | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 8 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | | | 2–1 | | |
| 4 | Kashiwa Reysol | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | | | | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | |
| 5 | Vegalta Sendai | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 8 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | | | | 1–0 | |
| 6 | Albirex Niigata | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 7 | | 1–1 | | 0–5 | | | | 1–0 |
| 7 | Sagan Tosu | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | | | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | |

#### Matches
## Knock-out stage

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Yokohama F. Marinos (a) | Yokohama F. Marinos (a) | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Omiya Ardija | Omiya Ardija | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Omiya Ardija | Omiya Ardija | 2 | 0 | 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | Yokohama F. Marinos | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | Gamba Osaka (a) | Gamba Osaka (a) | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | |
| Gamba Osaka | Gamba Osaka | 1 | 6 | 7 | Gamba Osaka (a) | Gamba Osaka (a) | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | Gamba Osaka | Gamba Osaka | 1 (4) |
| | | | | | | | | | | Urawa Red Diamonds | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 (5) |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Urawa Red Diamonds | 2 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | | | Urawa Red Diamonds | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 (5) |
| Vissel Kobe | Vissel Kobe | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Vissel Kobe | Vissel Kobe | 1 | 0 | 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | Urawa Red Diamonds | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | |
| | | | | | FC Tokyo | FC Tokyo | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Avispa Fukuoka | 1 | 0 | 1 | FC Tokyo | FC Tokyo | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | |
| FC Tokyo | FC Tokyo | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | |

### Quarter-finals
#### Second leg

2–2 on aggregate. Yokohama F. Marinos won on away goals
Urawa Red Diamonds won 6-1 on aggregate.
Gamba Osaka won 7-4 on aggregate.
FC Tokyo won 3-1 on aggregate.

### Semi-finals
#### Second leg

1–1 on aggregate. Gamba Osaka won on away goals
Urawa Red Diamonds won 5-2 on aggregate.

### Final
## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Toshiyuki Takagi | Urawa Red Diamonds | 4 |
| 2 | Shinzo Koroki | Urawa Red Diamonds | 3 |
| 2 | Pedro Júnior | Vissel Kobe | 3 |
| 2 | Kazuma Watanabe | Vissel Kobe | 3 |
| 2 | Shoki Hirai | Avispa Fukuoka | 3 |
| 2 | Sho Ito | Yokohama F. Marinos | 3 |
Updated to games played on 15 October 2016 Names of players in bold are still active. Source: J. League Data