2023 Urawa Red Diamonds season

The 2023 Urawa Red Diamonds season was their 73rd season in existence and the 23rd consecutive season in the J1 League. In addition to the league, the club competed in the Emperor's Cup, the J. League Cup, the 2023–24 AFC Champions League and the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.

Urawa Red Diamonds
2023 season
ManagerMaciej Skorża
StadiumSaitama Stadium 2002 and Urawa Komaba Stadium
Saitama, Saitama
J1 League4th
Emperor's CupThird round
J.League CupRunners-up
AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage
FIFA Club World CupFourth place
Top goalscorerLeague:
José Kanté (8)

All:
José Kanté (14)
Highest home attendance45,575 vs Kashima Antlers
(4 June; J1 League)
Lowest home attendance5,351 vs Kansai University
(7 June; Emperor's Cup)
Average home league attendance26,836
Biggest win6–0 vs Hanoi FC
(4 October; AFC Champions League)
Biggest defeat3–0 vs Nagoya Grampus
(2 August;Third Round Emperor's Cup)
3–0 vs Manchester City (19 December; Semifinal Club World Cup)
← 2022
2024 →

Players edit

As of 9 May 2024.[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   JPN Shusaku Nishikawa
2 DF   JPN Hiroki Sakai (captain)
3 MF   JPN Atsuki Ito
4 DF   JPN Hirokazu Ishihara
5 DF   NOR Marius Høibråten
6 MF   JPN Ken Iwao
7 FW   JPN Hiroki Abe
8 MF   JPN Yoshio Koizumi
9 FW   NED Bryan Linssen
10 MF   JPN Shoya Nakajima
11 MF   SWE Samuel Gustafson
12 FW   BRA Thiago Santana
13 MF   JPN Ryoma Watanabe
14 MF   JPN Takahiro Sekine
16 GK   JPN Ayumi Niekawa
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW   NOR Ola Solbakken (on loan from Roma)
20 DF   JPN Yota Sato
21 MF   JPN Tomoaki Okubo
23 DF   JPN Rikito Inoue
24 MF   JPN Yusuke Matsuo
25 MF   JPN Kaito Yasui
27 MF   THA Ekanit Panya (on loan from Muangthong United)
28 DF   DEN Alexander Scholz (vice-captain)
29 MF   JPN Yota Horiuchi
30 FW   JPN Shinzo Koroki
31 GK   JPN Shun Yoshida
35 MF   JPN Tomoya Ugajin
38 FW   JPN Naoki Maeda
47 MF   JPN Hidetoshi Takeda
66 DF   JPN Ayumu Ohata

Out on loan edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   JPN Yudai Fujiwara (On loan at Machida Zelvia)
DF   JPN Kota Kudo (On loan at Fujieda MYFC)
DF   JPN Ryuya Fukushima (On loan at Kochi United)
MF   JPN Kai Matsuzaki (On loan at Vegalta Sendai)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   JPN Hidetoshi Takeda (On loan at Mito HollyHock)
FW   DEN Kasper Junker (On loan at Nagoya Grampus)
FW   JPN Rei Kihara (On loan at Nagano Parceiro)

Transfers edit

Pre-season friendlies edit

15 January Okinawa Training Camp Urawa Red Diamonds 5–1 Okinawa SV Kin
15:30 JST
Report
Stadium: Kin Town Football Center
Note: The match was played with two halves lasting 45 minutes each.
21 January Okinawa Training Camp Urawa Red Diamonds 7–0 Okinawa International University Kin
14:30 JST
Report Stadium: Kin Town Football Center
Note: The match was played with two halves lasting 45 minutes each and one half lasting 30 minutes.
25 January Okinawa Training Camp Urawa Red Diamonds 4–1 Omiya Ardija Kin
15:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Kin Town Football Center
Note: The match was played with two halves lasting 45 minutes each.
29 January Okinawa Training Camp Urawa Red Diamonds 3–4 Sagan Tosu Kin
11:30 JST
Report
Stadium: Kin Town Football Center
Note: The match was played with three halves lasting 45 minutes each.

Competitions edit

Overall record edit

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
J1 League 18 February 2 December Matchday 1 4th 34 15 12 7 42 27 +15 044.12
Emperor's Cup 7 June 2 August Second round 4th Round 3 2 0 1 2 3 −1 066.67
J.League Cup 8 March 4 November Group stage Runners-up 10 3 5 2 7 7 +0 030.00
2022 AFC Champions League 29 April 6 May Final Winner 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 050.00
2023 AFC Champions League 22 August 6 December Play-off Round Group Stage 6 2 1 3 12 9 +3 033.33
FIFA Club World Cup 15 December December Second round 3 1 0 2 1 3 −2 033.33
Total 58 24 19 15 66 50 +16 041.38

Last updated: 15 December 2023
Source: Competitions

J1 League edit

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
2 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 19 7 8 63 40 +23 64 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage
3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 34 17 7 10 42 28 +14 58 Qualification for the AFC Champions League 2 group stage
4 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 15 12 7 42 27 +15 57
5 Kashima Antlers 34 14 10 10 43 34 +9 52
6 Nagoya Grampus 34 14 10 10 41 36 +5 52
Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League, J.League Data Site
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goals scored; 7) Fewer disciplinary points.

Results summary edit

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
19 10 6 3 27 15  +12 36 6 2 1 18 9  +9 4 4 2 9 6  +3

Last updated: 2 July 2023.
Source: Soccerway

Matches edit

The full league fixtures were released on 20 January 2023.[3]

18 February 1 FC Tokyo 2–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Tokyo
14:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium
Attendance: 38,051
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara
25 February 2 Yokohama F. Marinos 2–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Yokohama
14:00 JST Report
Stadium: Nissan Stadium
Attendance: 34,035
Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
4 March 3 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1 Cerezo Osaka Saitama
15:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Urawa Komaba Stadium
Attendance: 18,437
Referee: Hayato Shimizu
11 March 4 Vissel Kobe 0–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Kobe
14:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe
Attendance: 21,223
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura
18 March 5 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1 Albirex Niigata Saitama
15:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Urawa Komaba Stadium
Attendance: 15,167
Referee: Koichiro Fukushima
31 March 6 Kashiwa Reysol 0–3 Urawa Red Diamonds Kashiwa
19:00 JST Koga   66' Report
Stadium: Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium
Attendance: 11,620
Referee: Tom Bramall (England)
9 April 7 Nagoya Grampus 0–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Nagoya
15:00 JST Report
Stadium: Toyota Stadium
Attendance: 22,655
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura
15 April 8 Urawa Red Diamonds 4–1 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Saitama
15:00 JST
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 38,574
Referee: Takafumi Mikuriya
23 April 9 Kawasaki Frontale 1–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Kawasaki
16:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
Attendance: 22,304
Referee: Ryo Tanimoto
10 May 10 Urawa Red Diamonds 0–2 Sagan Tosu Saitama
19:30 JST Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 17,970
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura
14 May 13 Urawa Red Diamonds 3–1 Gamba Osaka Saitama
16:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 31,440
Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
20 May 14 Avispa Fukuoka 0–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Fukuoka
13:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Best Denki Stadium
Attendance: 10,417
Referee: Hayato Shimizu
27 May 15 Kyoto Sanga 0–2 Urawa Red Diamonds Kameoka
19:00 JST Report
Stadium: Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
Attendance: 15,229
Referee: Takafumi Mikuriya
31 May 11 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Saitama
19:30 JST
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 20,266
Referee: Jumpei Iida
4 June 16 Urawa Red Diamonds 0–0 Kashima Antlers Saitama
17:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 45,575
Referee: Andrew Madley (England)
11 June 17 Yokohama FC 0–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Yokohama
18:30 JST
Report
Stadium: Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium
Attendance: 10,086
Referee: Hayato Shimizu
24 June 18 Urawa Red Diamonds 1–1 Kawasaki Frontale Saitama
19:30 JST
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 35,887
Referee: Yoshiro Imamura
28 June 12 Urawa Red Diamonds 4–1 Shonan Bellmare Saitama
19:30 JST
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 18,208
Referee: Yusuke Araki
1 July 19 Sagan Tosu 1–2 Urawa Red Diamonds Tosu
19:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium
Attendance: 11,224
Referee: Ryo Tanimoto
8 July 20 Urawa Red Diamonds 0–0 FC Tokyo Saitama
19:00 JST
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 49,108
Referee: Khamis Al-Marri
16 July 21 Cerezo Osaka 2–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Osaka
19:00 JST Ceará   6'
Croux   25'
Report Okubo   49'
Scholz  
Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium
Attendance: 21,007
Referee: Yudai Yamamoto
6 August 22 Urawa Red Diamonds 0–0 Yokohama F. Marinos Saitama
19:00 JST Okubo   53'
Iwao   56'
Report Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 42,664
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura
13 August 23 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Hiroshima
18:00 JST Kato   69'
Ben Khalifa   90+3'
Report Kanté   29' Stadium: Edion Stadium Hiroshima
Attendance: 21,108
Referee: Hayato Shimizu
18 August 24 Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 Nagoya Grampus Saitama
19:30 JST Kanté   11' Report Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 32,578
Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
25 August 25 Shonan Bellmare 0–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Hiratsuka
19:00 JST Report Kanté   64' Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka
Attendance: 10,361
Referee: Jumpei Iida
2 September 26 Albirex Niigata 1–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Niigata
18:03 JST Komi   81'
Akiyama   90+6'
Report Scholz   38' (pen.) Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium
Attendance: 27,775
Referee: Hajime Matsuo
15 September 27 Urawa Red Diamonds 0–0 Kyoto Sanga Saitama
19:34 JST Akimoto   62' Report Tawiah   71' Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 21,434
Referee: Hayato Shimizu
22 September 28 Gamba Osaka 1–3 Urawa Red Diamonds Suita
17:00 JST Usami   17' Report
Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita
Attendance: 30,135
Referee: Yusuke Araki
29 September 29 Urawa Red Diamonds 1–1 Yokohama FC Saitama
19:30 JST Scholz   74' (pen.) Report Marcelo   15' Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 22,379
Referee: Yoshiro Imamura
20 October 30 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–0 Kashiwa Reysol Saitama
19:00 JST Koizumi   53'
Ogiwara   57'
Report Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 25,991
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura
27 October 31 Kashima Antlers 0–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Kashima
14:00 JST Report
Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium
Attendance: 29,305
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura
10 November 32 Urawa Red Diamonds 1–2 Vissel Kobe Saitama
15:00 JST Kanté   90+1' Report Thuler   62'
Osako   90+6'
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 48,144
Referee: Yusuke Araki
24 November 33 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–3 Avispa Fukuoka Saitama
14:00 JST Scholz   18' (pen.)
Akimoto   75'
Report Konno   32', 62'
Oda   54'
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 34,826
Referee: Masuya Ueda
2 December 34 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 0–2 Urawa Red Diamonds Sapporo
18:00 JST
Stadium: Sapporo Dome

Emperor's Cup edit

As Urawa is a J1 club, it starts the competition at the second round.

7 June Second round Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 (a.e.t.) Kansai University Saitama
19:00
Report
Stadium: Urawa Komaba Stadium
Attendance: 5,351
Referee: Hiroyoshi Takayama
12 July Third round Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 Montedio Yamagata Tendo
Report Stadium: ND Soft Stadium Yamagata
Attendance: 6,520
Referee: Jumpei Iida
2 August Fourth round Nagoya Grampus 3–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Nagoya
Report Stadium: CS Asset Minato Soccer Stadium
Attendance: 6,975
Referee: Takuto Okabe

J.League Cup edit

The club started the competition at the group stage.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Urawa Red Diamonds 6 1 5 0 5 4 +1 8[a] Advance to knockout stage
2 Shimizu S-Pulse 6 2 2 2 8 15 −7 8[a]
3 Kawasaki Frontale 6 2 2 2 12 7 +5 8[a]
4 Shonan Bellmare 6 1 3 2 8 7 +1 6
Source: JLeague.co (EN), JLeague.jp (JA)
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head points: Urawa Red Diamonds 6, Shimizu S-Pulse 5, Kawasaki Frontale 4.
8 March Shonan Bellmare 0–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Hiratsuka
19:03 Report
Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka
Attendance: 8,856
Referee: Futoshi Nakamura
26 March Urawa Red Diamonds 1–1 Shimizu S-Pulse Saitama
15:00
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 10,125
Referee: Koei Koya
5 April Kawasaki Frontale 0–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Kawasaki
19:03 Report
Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium
Attendance: 18,332
Referee: Shu Kawamata
19 April Urawa Red Diamonds 1–1 Shonan Bellmare Saitama
19:33
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 11,222
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara
24 May Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1 Kawasaki Frontale Saitama
19:33
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 12,366
Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita
18 June Shimizu S-Pulse 1–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Shizuoka
18:03
Report
Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira
Attendance: 10,229
Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Quarter-finals edit

6 September First leg Gamba Osaka 0–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Suita
19:03 JST JLeague.co (EN)
JLeague.jp (JA)
Schalk   46' Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita
Attendance: 9,363
Referee: Takafumi Mikuriya
10 September Second leg Urawa Red Diamonds 3–0 Gamba Osaka Saitama
19:00 JST
JLeague.co (EN)
JLeague.jp (JA)
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Note: Urawa won 4-0 on aggregate

Semi-finals edit

11 October First Leg Yokohama F. Marinos 1–0 Urawa Red Diamonds Yokohama
19:00 JST Lopes   60' (pen.) Sakai   90+5' Stadium: Nissan Stadium
Attendance: 13,337
Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
15 October Second Leg Urawa Red Diamonds 2–0 Yokohama F. Marinos Saitama
17:00 JST Scholz   53' (pen.), 90+1' (pen.) Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 29,504
Referee: Ryu Tanimoto
Note: Urawa won 2-1 on aggregate

Final edit

3 November Urawa Red Diamonds 1–2 Avispa Fukuoka Shinjuku, Tokyo
15:05 JST Akimoto   67' Mae   5'
Miya   45+5'
Stadium: Japan National Stadium
Attendance: 61,683

2023–24 AFC Champions League edit

Urawa qualified to the play-off round of the competition because they are the defending champions and would not qualify to the Champions League by their national competitions. This is due to the club not being able to finish in a sufficiently high position in the J1 League and in the Emperor's Cup during the 2022 season.

22 August Play-off round Urawa Red Diamonds 3–0   Lee Man Saitama
19:30 JST
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Note: A win (after 90 minutes, extra-time or penalty shoot-out) qualifies them to the 2023–24 AFC Champions League Group Stage.
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification POH RED HAN WTT
1   Pohang Steelers 6 5 1 0 14 5 +9 16 Advance to round of 16 2–1 2–0 3–1
2   Urawa Red Diamonds 6 2 1 3 12 9 +3 7 0–2 6–0 2–1
3   Hanoi FC 6 2 0 4 7 16 −9 6 2–4 2–1 2–1
4   Wuhan Three Towns 6 1 2 3 8 11 −3 5 1–1 2–2 2–1
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group Stage edit

20 September 2023 1 Wuhan Three Towns   2–2 Urawa Red Diamonds Wuhan, China
21:00 CST
Report
Stadium: Wuhan Sports Center
Attendance: 27,600
Referee: Omar Mohammed Al Ali (United Arab Emirates)
4 October 2023 2 Urawa Red Diamonds 6–0   Hanoi Saitama
19:00 JST
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Referee: Adham Mohammed (Jordania)
24 October 2023 3 Urawa Red Diamonds 0–2   Pohang Steelers Saitama
19:00 JST
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
8 November 2023 4 Pohang Steelers   2–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Pohang, South Korea
19:00 KST Zeca   66' (pen.)
Park   62'
Kim   90+4'
Kanté   36'
Ito   54'
Iwanami   67'
Akimoto   72'
Skorża   72'
Stadium: Pohang Steelyard
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
28 November 2023 5 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1   Wuhan Three Towns Saitama
19:00 JST
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Referee: Majed Al-Shamrani (Saudi Arabia)
12 December 2023 6 Hanoi   2–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Hanoi, Vietnam
19:00 ICT
Stadium: Mỹ Đình National Stadium
Referee: Sadullo Gulmorodi (Tajikistan)

2022 AFC Champions League edit

The two-legged final was originally scheduled to be played on 19 and 26 February. However, Urawa's main stadium, the Saitama Stadium 2002 was not available due to pitch maintenance around this date, and then, would see Urawa having to host the second leg at the Urawa Komaba Stadium. As a result of this conflict, the AFC decided to rearrange the dates even further on the calendar, rescheduling the matches to late April and early May.

29 April Final (1st Leg) Al-Hilal   1–1   Urawa Red Diamonds Riyadh
20:30 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: King Fahd International Stadium
Attendance: 50,881
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
6 May Final (2nd Leg) Urawa Red Diamonds   1–0   Al-Hilal Saitama
18:00 UTC+9
Report
Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002
Attendance: 53,574
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Note: Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.

FIFA World Club Cup edit

Urawa Red Diamonds qualified for the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup as winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League final. They will play the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League winners, Club León, in the quarterfinals.

15 December Quarter-Finals   Club León 0–1 Urawa Red Diamonds Jeddah
17:30 UTC+03:00 Viñas   51'
Tesillo   51',   84'
Okubo   45+1'
Schalk   78'
Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City
Referee: Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
19 December Semifinals Urawa Red Diamonds 0–3   Manchester City Jeddah
21:00 UTC+03:00 Akanji   24'
Höibraten   45+1' (o.g.)
Kovačić   52'
Silva   59'
Nunes   83'
Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City
Referee: Mohammed Khled Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
22 December Match for Third Place Urawa Red Diamonds 2–4   Al Ahly Jeddah
17:30 UTC+03:00 Kanté   43',   75'
Scholz   54' (pen.)
Linssen   55'
Ibrahim   19'
Tau   25'
Koizumi   60' (o.g.)
El Shenawy   90+5'
Maâloul  ,   90+8',   90+9'
Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City
Referee: Tori Penso (United States)

Goalscorers edit

Updated as of 2 July 2023.[4]

Rank Pos. No. Player J1 League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup 2022 ACL Final 2023–24 ACL Total
1 FW 30   Shinzo Koroki 4 0 0 1 0 5
2 FW 11   José Kanté 3 0 1 0 0 4
3 MF 14   Takahiro Sekine 3 0 0 0 0 3
DF 28   Alexander Scholz 3 0 0 0 0 3
MF 3   Atsuki Ito 2 1 0 0 0 3
DF 15   Takahiro Akimoto 2 0 1 0 0 3
7 DF 2   Hiroki Sakai 2 0 0 0 0 2
MF 25   Kaito Yasui 2 0 0 0 0 2
FW 9   Bryan Linssen 1 0 1 0 0 2
10 DF 5   Marius Høibråten 1 0 0 0 0 1
FW 17   Alex Schalk 1 0 0 0 0 1
FW 19   Ken Iwao 1 0 0 0 0 1
MF 21   Tomoaki Okubo 1 0 0 0 0 1
MF 35   Jumpei Hayakawa 0 0 1 0 0 1
Total 26 1 4 1 0 32

References edit

  1. ^ "TOP TEAM". Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. ^ "トップチームトピックス". Urawa Red Diamonds (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  3. ^ "2023シーズンの日程が発表【Jリーグ】". jleague.jp (in Japanese). Japan Professional Football League.
  4. ^ "Goal count". J.League. Retrieved 16 January 2022.

External links edit