2023 J.League Cup

Football tournament season

2023 J.League Cup
2023 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ
Tournament details
Country	Japan
Dates	8 March – 4 November
Teams	20
Final positions
Champions	Avispa Fukuoka (1st title)
Runner-up	Urawa Red Diamonds
Tournament statistics
Matches played	73
Goals scored	190 (2.6 per match)
Attendance	677,347 (9,279 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Noriyoshi Sakai Asahi Uenaka (4 goals each)
← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 J.League Cup, known as the 2023 J.League YBC Levain Cup (Japanese: 2023 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ) for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of J.League Cup, a Japanese association football cup competition.^[1] Unlike previous editions, the competition did not use the away goals rule. No byes awarded for the knockout stage and thus no knockout round playoffs.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the defending champions, having beaten Cerezo Osaka 2–1 in the 2022 final to win their first J.League Cup title. They were unable to defend their title after their elimination in the group stage.

Avispa Fukuoka won their first ever major trophy by defeating two-time winners Urawa Red Diamonds in the final. They became the third consecutive new winners of the tournament, following Nagoya Grampus in 2021 and Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2022.

Format

All 18 teams in the 2023 J1 League participated as well as the top two relegated teams from the 2022 season. Different from the previous editions, no teams were awarded bye or a direct qualification for the knockout stage. The change was made due to AFC Champions League's calendar shift, as it adopted the spring-autumn season format from 2023 and got rid of the year-round format, thus having the 2023–24 group stage played from September 2023.^[1]

Twenty teams played in the group stage, divided into five groups of four teams, allocated in each group by their finish on the 2022 J1 and J2 Leagues. Each group winners and the three best-placed runners-up qualified to the quarter-finals.^[2]

This was the last edition to feature a group stage like the Scottish League Cup and Taça da Liga. From 2024, it would be held as a single knockout competition like the EFL Cup and would see all clubs from the season's J1, J2, and J3 Leagues participate, thus including the clubs from all J.League divisions for the first time since 2001.^[3]

Qualified teams

League	Team	Final 2022 rank
2022 J1	Yokohama F. Marinos	1st
	Kawasaki Frontale	2nd
	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	3rd
	Kashima Antlers	4th
	Cerezo Osaka	5th
	FC Tokyo	6th
	Kashiwa Reysol	7th
	Nagoya Grampus	8th
	Urawa Red Diamonds	9th
	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	10th
	Sagan Tosu	11th
	Shonan Bellmare	12nd
	Vissel Kobe	13rd
	Avispa Fukuoka	14th
	Gamba Osaka	15th
	Kyoto Sanga	16th
	Shimizu S-Pulse (2023 J2)	17th
	Júbilo Iwata (2023 J2)	18th
2022 J2	Albirex Niigata (2023 J1)	1st
2022 J2	Yokohama FC (2023 J1)	2nd

Schedule

The schedule was confirmed along with the holding method of the competition on 20 December 2022.^[1]

Stage	Round	Date^[1]
Group stage	Matchday 1	8 March 2023
	Matchday 2	25–26 March 2023
	Matchday 3	5 April 2023
	Matchday 4	19 April 2023
	Matchday 5	24 May 2023
	Matchday 6	18 June 2023
Knockout stage
	Quarter-finals	6 September 2023 (first leg) 10 September 2023 (second leg)
	Semi-finals	11 October 2023 (first leg) 15 October 2023 (second leg)
	Final	4 November 2023

Group stage

Each group had its matches played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. Each match lasted 90 minutes. Each team played six times, twice against each opponent at home and away.

Tiebreakers

In the group stage, teams in a group were ranked by points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If the points were tied, the following tiebreakers were applied accordingly:^[1]

Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;

If more than two teams were tied, and applying all head-to-head criteria above remains a part of teams still tied, reapply the criteria above only for the tied teams.

Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches;
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the sixth match of the group;
Fewer disciplinary points;
Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Yokohama F. Marinos	6	5	0	1	14	5	+9	15	Advance to knockout stage
2	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	6	3	1	2	13	10	+3	10	Advance to knockout stage
3	Júbilo Iwata	6	2	0	4	8	9	−1	6
4	Sagan Tosu	6	1	1	4	4	15	−11	4

Source: JLeague.co (EN), JLeague.jp (JA)
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Yokohama F. Marinos v Júbilo Iwata

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Yokohama F. Marinos	1–0	Júbilo Iwata	Yokohama
19:03	Suzuki 49' (o.g.)	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Attendance: 7,077 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Sagan Tosu v Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Sagan Tosu	0–0	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	Tosu
19:04		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Attendance: 4,002 Referee: Jumpei Iida

Júbilo Iwata v Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

25 March 2023 (2023-03-25)	Júbilo Iwata	2–3	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	Iwata
14:03	Fujiwara 67' Ogawa 73'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Tanaka 50' Kaneko 56' Tučić 90+8'	Stadium: Yamaha Stadium Attendance: 4,658 Referee: Shu Kawamata

Sagan Tosu v Yokohama F. Marinos

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Sagan Tosu	0–2	Yokohama F. Marinos	Tosu
15:04		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Uenaka 79' Yoshio 86'	Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Attendance: 6,615 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Yokohama F. Marinos v Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Yokohama F. Marinos	2–1	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	Yokohama
19:03	Marcos Júnior 10' Nishi 26' (o.g.)	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Nakashima 6'	Stadium: Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Attendance: 6,269 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Júbilo Iwata v Sagan Tosu

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Júbilo Iwata	1–2	Sagan Tosu	Iwata
19:03	Ogawa 81'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Akumu 6' Kabayama 86'	Stadium: Yamaha Stadium Attendance: 2,769 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo v Sagan Tosu

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	4–1	Sagan Tosu	Sapporo
19:03	Supachok 8', 53' Suga 57' Tučić 83'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Ono 23'	Stadium: Sapporo Dome Attendance: 4,439 Referee: Futoshi Nakamura

Júbilo Iwata v Yokohama F. Marinos

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Júbilo Iwata	0–1	Yokohama F. Marinos	Iwata
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Yan 7'	Stadium: Yamaha Stadium Attendance: 3,526 Referee: Koei Koya

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo v Yokohama F. Marinos

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	3–2	Yokohama F. Marinos	Sapporo
19:03	Fernandes 57' Tučić 65' Aoki 84'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Matsubara 49' Sakakibara 76'	Stadium: Sapporo Dome Attendance: 5,923 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto

Sagan Tosu v Júbilo Iwata

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Sagan Tosu	0–2	Júbilo Iwata	Tosu
19:04		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	González 32' Kaneko 76'	Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Attendance: 3,753 Referee: Hajime Matsuo

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo v Júbilo Iwata

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	2–3	Júbilo Iwata	Sapporo
18:03	Fernandes 2' Fukai 73'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Yamamoto 73' Nakagawa 73' Furukawa 73'	Stadium: Sapporo Dome Attendance: 10,146 Referee: Hayato Shimizu

Yokohama F. Marinos v Sagan Tosu

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Yokohama F. Marinos	6–1	Sagan Tosu	Yokohama
18:03	Nishimura 24' (pen.), 49' Miyaichi 67' Uenaka 68', 89' Yoshio 72'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Suzuki 90+3'	Stadium: Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Attendance: 6,939 Referee: Koji Takasaki

Group B

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:

^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head points: Urawa Red Diamonds 6, Shimizu S-Pulse 5, Kawasaki Frontale 4.

Shonan Bellmare v Urawa Red Diamonds

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Shonan Bellmare	0–0	Urawa Red Diamonds	Hiratsuka
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka Attendance: 8,856 Referee: Futoshi Nakamura

Shimizu S-Pulse v Kawasaki Frontale

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Shimizu S-Pulse	3–2	Kawasaki Frontale	Shizuoka
19:03	Oh Se-hun 6' Shirasaki 7' Nakayama 70'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Chanathip 67' Miyashiro 82' (pen.)	Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira Attendance: 6,900 Referee: Shu Kawamata

Urawa Red Diamonds v Shimizu S-Pulse

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Urawa Red Diamonds	1–1	Shimizu S-Pulse	Saitama
15:03	Linssen 38'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Kololli 71'	Stadium: Urawa Komaba Stadium Attendance: 10,125 Referee: Koei Koya

Kawasaki Frontale v Shonan Bellmare

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Kawasaki Frontale	0–0	Shonan Bellmare	Kawasaki
15:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium Attendance: 14,967 Referee: Thomas Bramall

Kawasaki Frontale v Urawa Red Diamonds

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Kawasaki Frontale	0–0	Urawa Red Diamonds	Kawasaki
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium Attendance: 18,332 Referee: Shu Kawamata

Shonan Bellmare v Shimizu S-Pulse

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Shonan Bellmare	3–0	Shimizu S-Pulse	Hiratsuka
19:03	Suzuki 21' Yamada 40', 51'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka Attendance: 7,204 Referee: Takafumi Mikuriya

Kawasaki Frontale v Shimizu S-Pulse

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Kawasaki Frontale	6–0	Shimizu S-Pulse	Kawasaki
19:03	Tono 13', 16' Kurumaya 58' Seko 69' Wakizaka 84', 89'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium Attendance: 15,081 Referee: Keigo Sendachi

Urawa Red Diamonds v Shonan Bellmare

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Urawa Red Diamonds	1–1	Shonan Bellmare	Saitama
19:33	Hayakawa 43'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Yamada 3'	Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 11,222 Referee: Hiroki Kasahara

Shimizu S-Pulse v Shonan Bellmare

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Shimizu S-Pulse	3–2	Shonan Bellmare	Shizuoka
19:03	Kishimoto 28' Kololli 42' Thiago Santana 81'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Suzuki 64' Hiraoka 67'	Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira Attendance: 4,574 Referee: Koji Takasaki

Urawa Red Diamonds v Kawasaki Frontale

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Urawa Red Diamonds	2–1	Kawasaki Frontale	Saitama
19:33	Kanté 51' Schmidt 89' (o.g.)	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Segawa 3'	Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 12,366 Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita

Shonan Bellmare v Kawasaki Frontale

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Shonan Bellmare	2–3	Kawasaki Frontale	Hiratsuka
18:03	Ohashi 6', 59'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Seko 73' Yamada 88' Tono 90+4'	Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka Attendance: 10,374 Referee: Koei Koya

Shimizu S-Pulse v Urawa Red Diamonds

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Shimizu S-Pulse	1–1	Urawa Red Diamonds	Shizuoka
18:03	Kitagawa 33'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Akimoto 49'	Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira Attendance: 10,229 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Nagoya Grampus	6	5	1	11	5	+6	15	Advance to knockout stage
2	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	6	3	3	12	7	+5	9
3	Yokohama FC	6	2	4	7	10	−3	6^[a]
4	Vissel Kobe	6	2	4	4	12	−8	6^[a]

Source: JLeague.co (EN), JLeague.jp (JA)
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head points: Yokohama FC 3, Vissel Kobe 3. Head-to-head goal differences: Yokohama FC +1, Vissel Kobe –1.

Vissel Kobe v Nagoya Grampus

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Vissel Kobe	0–2	Nagoya Grampus	Kobe
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Sakai 23', 75'	Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 4,084 Referee: Yusuke Araki

Sanfrecce Hiroshima v Yokohama FC

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	3–1	Yokohama FC	Hiroshima
19:03	Mitsuta 75' Sasaki 80' Sugita 88' (o.g.)	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Caprini 59'	Stadium: Edion Stadium Hiroshima Attendance: 5,249 Referee: Tetsuro Yoshida

Yokohama FC v Vissel Kobe

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Yokohama FC	0–1	Vissel Kobe	Yokohama
14:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Osako 85'	Stadium: Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Attendance: 3,813 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Sanfrecce Hiroshima v Nagoya Grampus

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	1–2	Nagoya Grampus	Hiroshima
14:03	Kawamura 29'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Morishita 61' Nagai 63'	Stadium: Edion Stadium Hiroshima Attendance: 8,807 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura

Vissel Kobe v Sanfrecce Hiroshima

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Vissel Kobe	0–5	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Kobe
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Sasaki 31' Mitsuta 53', 70' Kawamura 60' Yamasaki 87'	Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 4,434 Referee: Koei Koya

Nagoya Grampus v Yokohama FC

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Nagoya Grampus	3–2	Yokohama FC	Nagoya
19:33	Sakai 45+1', 90' Nagai 78'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Nakamura 28' Ito 42'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 6,465 Referee: Atsushi Kamimura

Yokohama FC v Nagoya Grampus

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Yokohama FC	0–2	Nagoya Grampus	Yokohama
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Kida 41', 52'	Stadium: Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Attendance: 2,818 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

Sanfrecce Hiroshima v Vissel Kobe

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	2–1	Vissel Kobe	Hiroshima
19:03	Sasaki 73' Nakano 82'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Lincoln 69' (pen.)	Stadium: Edion Stadium Hiroshima Attendance: 5,877 Referee: Jumpei Iida

Yokohama FC v Sanfrecce Hiroshima

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Yokohama FC	1–0	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Yokohama
19:03	Lara 29'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium Attendance: 2,754 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura

Nagoya Grampus v Vissel Kobe

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Nagoya Grampus	0–1	Vissel Kobe	Nagoya
19:33		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Lincoln 64'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 6,266 Referee: Masuya Ueda

Nagoya Grampus v Sanfrecce Hiroshima

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Nagoya Grampus	2–1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Nagoya
18:03	Izumi 37' Ishida 37'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Shibasaki 80'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 7,806 Referee: Futoshi Nakamura

Vissel Kobe v Yokohama FC

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Vissel Kobe	1–3	Yokohama FC	Kobe
18:03	Jean Patric 8'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Yamashita 20', 30' Marcelo Ryan 73'	Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 5,430 Referee: Yusuke Araki

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Avispa Fukuoka	6	4	1	1	9	6	+3	13	Advance to knockout stage
2	Kashima Antlers	6	3	1	2	6	4	+2	10	Advance to knockout stage
3	Albirex Niigata	6	2	0	4	6	8	−2	6
4	Kashiwa Reysol	6	1	2	3	7	10	−3	5

Source: JLeague.co (EN), JLeague.jp (JA)
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Kashiwa Reysol v Kashima Antlers

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Kashiwa Reysol	1–1	Kashima Antlers	Kashiwa
19:03	Hosoya 90'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Matsumura 22'	Stadium: Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium Attendance: 6,674 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Avispa Fukuoka v Albirex Niigata

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Avispa Fukuoka	1–0	Albirex Niigata	Fukuoka
19:03	Tsuruno 59'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 3,092 Referee: Hayato Shimizu

Albirex Niigata v Kashima Antlers

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Albirex Niigata	1–0	Kashima Antlers	Niigata
14:03	Akiyama 52'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 12,294 Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita

Avispa Fukuoka v Kashiwa Reysol

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Avispa Fukuoka	3–3	Kashiwa Reysol	Fukuoka
15:03	Yamagishi 29' Lukian 79' Yuzawa 90'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Tsuchiya 13' Grot 16', 67'	Stadium: Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 3,611 Referee: Kazuyoshi Enomoto

Kashima Antlers v Avispa Fukuoka

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Kashima Antlers	1–0	Avispa Fukuoka	Kashima
19:03	Araki 32'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 5,571 Referee: Hayato Shimizu

Albirex Niigata v Kashiwa Reysol

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Albirex Niigata	2–0	Kashiwa Reysol	Niigata
19:03	Matsuda 6' Komi 16'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 8,081 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Kashiwa Reysol v Albirex Niigata

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Kashiwa Reysol	3–2	Albirex Niigata	Kashiwa
19:03	Muto 17' Hosoya 47' Yamada 53'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Matsuda 22' Taniguchi 29'	Stadium: Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium Attendance: 4,650 Referee: Shu Kawamata

Avispa Fukuoka v Kashima Antlers

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Avispa Fukuoka	2–1	Kashima Antlers	Fukuoka
19:03	Jogo 14' Wellington 90+3'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Arthur 31'	Stadium: Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 3,520 Referee: Masuya Ueda

Kashima Antlers v Kashiwa Reysol

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Kashima Antlers	1–0	Kashiwa Reysol	Kashima
19:10	Arthur 68'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 6,134 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Albirex Niigata v Avispa Fukuoka

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Albirex Niigata	1–2	Avispa Fukuoka	Niigata
19:03	Gustavo 4'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Tsuruno 77' Oda 86'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 7,879 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Kashima Antlers v Albirex Niigata

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Kashima Antlers	2–0	Albirex Niigata	Kashima
18:03	Nakama 3' Someno 12'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 9,652 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

Kashiwa Reysol v Avispa Fukuoka

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Kashiwa Reysol	0–1	Avispa Fukuoka	Kashiwa
18:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Wellington 12'	Stadium: Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium Attendance: 4,986 Referee: Hajime Matsuo

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Gamba Osaka	6	3	1	2	8	4	+4	10^[a]	Advance to knockout stage
2	FC Tokyo	6	3	1	2	9	5	+4	10^[a]	Advance to knockout stage
3	Kyoto Sanga	6	3	0	3	9	11	−2	9
4	Cerezo Osaka	6	1	2	3	2	8	−6	5

Source: JLeague.co (EN), JLeague.jp (JA)
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head points: Gamba Osaka 3, FC Tokyo 3. Head-to-head goal differences: Gamba Osaka +2, FC Tokyo –2.

Kyoto Sanga v Gamba Osaka

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Kyoto Sanga	1–3	Gamba Osaka	Kameoka
19:03	Yamasaki 34'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Fukuda 30' Dawhan 42' Ishige 79'	Stadium: Sanga Stadium by Kyocera Attendance: 6,598 Referee: Hirokazu Otsubo

Cerezo Osaka v FC Tokyo

8 March 2023 (2023-03-08)	Cerezo Osaka	1–0	FC Tokyo	Osaka
19:03	Capixaba 86'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium Attendance: 10,615 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

FC Tokyo v Kyoto Sanga

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	FC Tokyo	5–0	Kyoto Sanga	Tokyo
15:03	Perotti 15', 55' Trevisan 25' Adaílton 59' Kumata 75'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium Attendance: 8,662 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Gamba Osaka v Cerezo Osaka

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26)	Gamba Osaka	1–1	Cerezo Osaka	Suita
15:03	Meshino 90+1'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Maikuma 52'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 26,110 Referee: Hiroki Kasahara

Kyoto Sanga v Cerezo Osaka

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Kyoto Sanga	4–0	Cerezo Osaka	Kameoka
19:03	Matsuda 6' Hiraga 8' Ichimi 21' Yachida 52'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Sanga Stadium by Kyocera Attendance: 5,156 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto

Gamba Osaka v FC Tokyo

5 April 2023 (2023-04-05)	Gamba Osaka	3–0	FC Tokyo	Suita
19:03	Sugiyama 43', 90+1' Fukuda 87'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 6,757 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

FC Tokyo v Gamba Osaka

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	FC Tokyo	1–0	Gamba Osaka	Tokyo
19:03	Tsukagawa 74'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium Attendance: 8,117 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Cerezo Osaka v Kyoto Sanga

19 April 2023 (2023-04-19)	Cerezo Osaka	0–2	Kyoto Sanga	Osaka
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Yamasaki 21' Yamada 84'	Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium Attendance: 6,717 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto

FC Tokyo v Cerezo Osaka

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	FC Tokyo	0–0	Cerezo Osaka	Tokyo
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)		Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium Attendance: 8,376 Referee: Shu Kawamata

Gamba Osaka v Kyoto Sanga

24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)	Gamba Osaka	0–1	Kyoto Sanga	Suita
19:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Kinoshita 19' (pen.)	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 7,804 Referee: Hiroki Kasahara

Kyoto Sanga v FC Tokyo

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Kyoto Sanga	1–3	FC Tokyo	Kameoka
18:03	Hirato 18'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Morishige 8' Nakagawa 26' Diego Oliveira 26'	Stadium: Sanga Stadium by Kyocera Attendance: 6,259 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Cerezo Osaka v Gamba Osaka

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)	Cerezo Osaka	0–1	Gamba Osaka	Osaka
18:03		JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Handa 37'	Stadium: Yodoko Sakura Stadium Attendance: 18,061 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura

Ranking of runners-up

The three best runners-up from the five groups advanced to the knockout stage along with the five group winners.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	E	FC Tokyo	6	3	1	2	9	5	+4	10	Knockout stage
2	A	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	6	3	1	2	13	10	+3	10
3	D	Kashima Antlers	6	3	1	2	6	4	+2	10
4	C	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	6	3	0	3	12	7	+5	9
5	B	Shimizu S-Pulse	6	2	2	2	8	15	−7	8

Source: JLeague.co (EN), JLeague.jp (JA)
Rules for classification: 1) Goal difference in all group matches; 2) Goals scored in all group matches; 3) Fewer disciplinary points; 4) Drawing of lots.

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage (also called the "Prime Stage" in Japan), which started with the quarter-finals, the matches were played in two legs, except for the final. The aggregate winners of each tie would qualify for the next round. Should in the second leg of either the quarter-final or semi-final the aggregate score was tied, extra-time would have been played. Should the draw stood, penalty shoot-outs would have been played to determine the tie winners. From this season on, the away goals rule would not be applied under any circumstances throughout the entire competition.

The draw to decide the match-ups was held on 3 July 2023 at 12:00 JST.^[4]

Bracket


Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final



Kashima Antlers	1	1	2

Nagoya Grampus (a.e.t.)	1	2	3
				Nagoya Grampus	0	0	0

				Avispa Fukuoka	1	1	2
Avispa Fukuoka	0	2	2
								4 November – Tokyo
FC Tokyo	1	0	1
								Avispa Fukuoka	2

								Urawa Red Diamonds	1
Urawa Red Diamonds	1	3	4

Gamba Osaka	0	0	0
				Urawa Red Diamonds	0	2	2

				Yokohama F. Marinos	1	0	1
Yokohama F. Marinos	2	3	5

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	3	0	3

Quarter-finals

Summary

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Kashima Antlers	2–3	Nagoya Grampus	1–1	1–2 (a.e.t.)
Avispa Fukuoka	2–1	FC Tokyo	0–1	2–0
Urawa Red Diamonds	4–0	Gamba Osaka	1–0	3–0
Yokohama F. Marinos	5–3	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	2–3	3–0

Matches

6 September 2023 (2023-09-06)

19:33

Nagoya Grampus	1–1	Kashima Antlers
Kubo 90+4'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Matsumura 49'

Toyota Stadium, Toyota

Attendance: 8,089

Referee: Yudai Yamamoto

10 September 2023 (2023-09-10)

18:03

Kashima Antlers	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Nagoya Grampus
Nakama 51'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Nakashima 3' Yoshida 119'

Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima

Attendance: 14,310

Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Nagoya Grampus won 3–2 on aggregate.

6 September 2023 (2023-09-06)

19:03

FC Tokyo	1–0	Avispa Fukuoka
Adaílton 16'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)

Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 5,565

Referee: Hayato Shimizu

10 September 2023 (2023-09-10)

19:03

Avispa Fukuoka	2–0	FC Tokyo
Yamagishi 38' Oda 45+3'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)

Best Denki Stadium, Fukuoka

Attendance: 8,659

Referee: Yudai Yamamoto

Avispa Fukuoka won 2–1 on aggregate.

6 September 2023 (2023-09-06)

19:03

Gamba Osaka	0–1	Urawa Red Diamonds
	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Schalk 46'

Panasonic Stadium Suita, Suita

Attendance: 9,363

Referee: Takafumi Mikuriya

10 September 2023 (2023-09-10)

19:03

Urawa Red Diamonds	3–0	Gamba Osaka
Linssen 8', 63' Schalk 86'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)

Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama

Attendance: 21,467

Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Urawa Red Diamonds won 4–0 on aggregate.

6 September 2023 (2023-09-06)

19:03

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	3–2	Yokohama F. Marinos
Okamura 27' Ogashiwa 74', 90+5'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Uenaka 8' Mizunuma 48'

Sapporo Dome, Sapporo

Attendance: 7,566

Referee: Hajime Matsuo

10 September 2023 (2023-09-10)

18:03

Yokohama F. Marinos	3–0	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Mizunuma 32' Anderson Lopes 48' Nam Tae-hee 50'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)

Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium, Yokohama

Attendance: 10,423

Referee: Jumpei Iida

Yokohama F. Marinos won 5–3 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

Summary

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Nagoya Grampus	0–2	Avispa Fukuoka	0–1	0–1
Urawa Red Diamonds	2–1	Yokohama F. Marinos	0–1	2–0

Matches

11 October 2023 (2023-10-11)

19:03

Avispa Fukuoka	1–0	Nagoya Grampus
Tsuruno 45+3'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)

Best Denki Stadium, Fukuoka

Attendance: 6,980

Referee: Jumpei Iida

15 October 2023 (2023-10-15)

15:03

Nagoya Grampus	0–1	Avispa Fukuoka
	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Wellington 5'

Toyota Stadium, Toyota

Attendance: 24,876

Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Avispa Fukuoka won 2–0 on aggregate.

11 October 2023 (2023-10-11)

19:03

Yokohama F. Marinos	1–0	Urawa Red Diamonds
Anderson Lopes 61' (pen.)	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)

Nissan Stadium, Yokohama

Attendance: 13,337

Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

15 October 2023 (2023-10-15)

17:03

Urawa Red Diamonds	2–0	Yokohama F. Marinos
Scholz 63' (pen.), 90+1' (pen.)	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)

Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama

Attendance: 29,504

Referee: Ryu Tanimoto

Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.

Final

This was Avispa's first major tournament final, while for Urawa this was their seventh J.League Cup final, winning two from the previous six. Their most recent final was in 2016, which they won.^[5]

4 November 2023 (2023-11-04)

13:12

Avispa Fukuoka	2–1	Urawa Red Diamonds
Mae 5' Miya 45+4'	JLeague.co (EN) JLeague.jp (JA)	Akimoto 67'

Japan National Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 61,683

Referee: Futoshi Nakamura

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[6]^[7]
1	Noriyoshi Sakai	Nagoya Grampus	4
1	Asahi Uenaka	Yokohama F. Marinos	4
3	Bryan Linssen	Urawa Red Diamonds	3
	Makoto Mitsuta	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
	Kota Mizunuma	Yokohama F. Marinos
	Sho Sasaki	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
	Reiju Tsuruno	Avispa Fukuoka
	Milan Tučić	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
	Wellington	Avispa Fukuoka
	Naoki Yamada	Shonan Bellmare

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "2023 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ大会方式および試合方式について" [About 2023 J.League YBC Levain Cup Holding Method] (in Japanese). Japan Professional Football League. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
^ "Major format changes await J. League in coming seasons". The Japan Times. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^ "League Structure and Competition Format from 2024 Season Unify the number of clubs in each category to 20 League Cup changed to a knockout competition with participation of all J1, J2 and J3 clubs". Japan Professional Football League. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
^ "プライムステージ組み合わせ決定！[ルヴァンカップ]" [Prime stage combination decided! [Levain Cup]]. JLeague.jp (in Japanese). Japan Professional Football League. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
^ "Fukuoka, Urawa to play for J.League Cup after semi-final victories". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023. Not only have Avi never played in a J.League Cup final, they've never played for any major trophy before...with Urawa on one end trying to win their first J.League Cup since 2016,...
^ "All Positions | Goals | All clubs | J.LEAGUE YBC Levain CUP | 2023 Player Stats | J.LEAGUE". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "Players - J-League Cup - Japan - Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 November 2023.

External links

Official website (in Japanese)

J.League Cup

Seasons

Finals

v t e J.League Cup champions
6 titles	Kashima Antlers 1997 2000 2002 2011 2012 2015
3 titles	Tokyo Verdy 1992 1993 1994 FC Tokyo 2004 2009 2020
2 titles	Júbilo Iwata 1998 2010 Gamba Osaka 2007 2014 JEF United Chiba 2005 2006 Kashiwa Reysol 1999 2013 Urawa Red Diamonds 2003 2016
1 title	Shimizu S-Pulse 1996 Yokohama F. Marinos 2001 Oita Trinita 2008 Cerezo Osaka 2017 Shonan Bellmare 2018 Kawasaki Frontale 2019 Nagoya Grampus 2021 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2022 Avispa Fukuoka 2023

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