The 98th Emperor's Cup (天皇杯 JFA 第98回全日本サッカー選手権大会) was the 2018 edition of the annual Japanese national football cup tournament, which began on 26 May 2018 and ended with the final on 9 December 2018 at the Saitama Stadium 2002.[1] The final was held earlier than the usual date of 1 January due to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

2018 Emperor's Cup
2018 Emperor's Cup Final at Saitama Stadium 2002
Tournament details
Country Japan
Dates26 May – 9 December
Teams88
Final positions
ChampionsUrawa Red Diamonds (7th title)
Runner-upVegalta Sendai
AFC Champions LeagueUrawa Red Diamonds
← 2017
2019 →

The draw for the first four rounds was held on 29 March 2018.[2]

As a result of its win, Urawa Red Diamonds automatically qualified to the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League.

Calendar edit

Round Date Matches Clubs New entries this round
First Round 26–27 May 24 47+1 → 24
Second Round 6 June 32 24+40 → 32
  • 18 J1 clubs
  • 22 J2 clubs
Third Round 11 July, 22 August 16 32 → 16
Fourth Round 22 August, 26 September 8 16 → 8
Quarter-finals 24 October, 21 November 4 8 → 4
Semi-finals 5 December 2 4 → 2
Final 9 December 1 2 → 1

Participating clubs edit

88 clubs competed in the tournament. Clubs playing in the 2018 J1 League and 2018 J2 League received a bye to the second round of the tournament. The remaining teams entered in the first round.

2018 J1 League
all clubs
2018 J2 League
all clubs
Amateur Best Team 47 prefectural tournament winners

Results edit

First round edit

The first round matches were held on 26 and 27 May 2018.

26 May 2018 Tadotsu FC 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Tokai University KumamotoKagawa Sports Park Soccer/Rugby Field, Takamatsu
13:00 Report Attendance: 233
26 May 2018 FC Ryukyu1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–6 p)
FC Imabari Okinawa City Stadium, Okinawa
19:00 Report Attendance: 1,064
27 May 2018 Suzuka Unlimited FC0–1 Kwansei Gakuin University Ueno Sports Park Stadium, Iga
13:00 Report Attendance: 715
27 May 2018 Kataller Toyama 1–0Ococias Kyoto ACTakaoka Sports Core, Takaoka
13:00 Report Attendance: 1,129

Second round edit

The second round matches were held on 6 June 2018.

6 June 2018 Sagan Tosu 7–0Tadotsu FCBest Amenity Stadium, Tosu
19:00 Report Attendance: 2,314
6 June 2018 Urawa Red Diamonds 3–0YSCC YokohamaUrawa Komaba Stadium, Saitama
19:00 Own-goal   34'
Koroki   45+2' (pen.)
Yamada   90'
Report Attendance: 4,276
Referee: N. Murakami
Notes
  • ^
    1: In this match, the original penalty shoot-out ended 4 – 5 as a win for Nara Club; however, on 11 June the JFA ruled that due to a mis-application of rules during the fourth shot taken by Nara Club, the penalty shoot-out would be replayed from the beginning.[3] The replayed penalty shoot-out was held on 28 June 2018.
  • Third round edit

    The third round matches were held on 11 July and 22 August 2018.

    11 July 2018 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1Matsumoto YamagaMatsumotodaira Park Stadium, Matsumoto
    19:00 Maurício   42',   85' Report Nagai   10' Attendance: 12,077
    Referee: T. Kakinuma
    Notes
  • ^
    2: Postponed to 22 August due to the 2018 Japan floods.[4]

  • Fourth round edit

    The fourth round matches were held on 22 August and 26 September 2018.

    22 August 2018 Kawasaki Frontale 3–1Shonan BellmareKawasaki Todoroki Stadium, Kawasaki
    19:00
    Report
    Attendance: 8,553
    Referee: Yoshiro Imamura
    22 August 2018 Sagan Tosu 3–0Vissel KobeBest Amenity Stadium, Tosu
    19:00
    Report Attendance: 17,361
    Referee: Koichiro Fukushima
    22 August 2018 Montedio Yamagata 1–1 (a.e.t.)
    (7–6 p)
    FC TokyoND Soft Stadium Yamagata, Tendō
    19:00
    Report
    Attendance: 3,515
    Referee: Yukie Kobaya
    Penalties
    Alves  
    Lopes  
    Kobayashi  
    Yamada  
    Nakamura  
    Kumamoto  
    Anzai  
      Morishige
      Jang Hyun-soo
      Higashi
      Nagai
      Yonemoto
      Muroya
      Togashi
    22 August 2018 Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0Tokyo VerdyKumagaya Athletic Stadium, Kumagaya
    19:00
    Report Attendance: 6,458
    Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
    26 September 2018 Kashima Antlers 2–0 (a.e.t.)Sanfrecce HiroshimaKashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima
    19:00 Silva   96'
    Misao   117'
    Report Attendance: 3,832
    Referee: Toru Kakinuma
    26 September 2018 Júbilo Iwata 4–2Consadole SapporoYamaha Stadium, Iwata
    19:00
    Report
    Attendance: 2,855
    Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura

    Quarter finals edit

    The quarter-finals were held on 24 October 2018 and 21 November 2018.

    24 October 2018 Urawa Red Diamonds 2–0Sagan TosuKumagaya Athletic Stadium, Kumagaya
    19:03
    Report Attendance: 7,867
    Referee: Nobutsugu Murakami
    24 October 2018 Júbilo Iwata1–1 (a.e.t.)
    (3–4 p)
    Vegalta Sendai Yamaha Stadium, Iwata
    19:03
    Report
    Attendance: 4,068
    Referee: Takuto Okabe
    Penalties
    Ogawa  
    Araki  
    Oi  
    Uehara  
    Miyazaki  
      Nagato
      Notsuda
      Ishihara
      Germain
      Havenaar
    24 October 2018 Kawasaki Frontale2–3 Montedio Yamagata ND Soft Stadium Yamagata, Tendō
    19:03
    Report
    Attendance: 5,356
    Referee: Yusuke Araki

    Semi finals edit

    The semi-finals were originally scheduled to be held on 16 December 2018. However, the semi-finals were rescheduled after Kashima Antlers won the 2018 AFC Champions League, which would have created a scheduling conflict with Kashima's participation in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.[5]

    5 December 2018 Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0Kashima AntlersKashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima
    19:04
    Report Attendance: 13,949
    Referee: Koichiro Fukushima
    5 December 2018 Vegalta Sendai 3–2Montedio YamagataYurtec Stadium Sendai, Sendai
    19:04
    Report
    Attendance: 16,604
    Referee: Masaaki Toma

    Final edit

    The final was originally scheduled to be held on 24 December 2018. However, the semi-finals were rescheduled after Kashima Antlers won the 2018 AFC Champions League, which could have created a scheduling conflict with the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.[5]

    References edit

    1. ^ "天皇杯 JFA 第98回全日本サッカー選手権大会 マッチスケジュールおよび決勝会場について" (in Japanese). Japan Football Association. 19 December 2017.
    2. ^ "天皇杯 JFA 第98回全日本サッカー選手権大会 組合せ決定" (in Japanese). Japan Football Association. 29 March 2018.
    3. ^ "【お詫び】天皇杯 JFA 第98回全日本サッカー選手権大会において競技規則適用ミスがあり、PK方式のやり直しを決定". Japan Football Association. 11 June 2018.
    4. ^ "第98回天皇杯 3回戦 サンフレッチェ広島 vs 名古屋グランパス 試合開催延期のお知らせ". Japan Football Association. 9 July 2018.
    5. ^ a b "第98回天皇杯 準決勝・決勝 開催日変更の可能性について". Japan Football Association. 24 October 2018.

    External links edit