The 38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament will hold semi-finals on Friday 23 December, and Nippon TV Beleza, who will race for the ‘Triple Crown’ after winning the Nadeshiko League and Nadeshiko League Cup, takes on the previous tournament’s runners-up, Albirex Niigata Ladies. INAC Kobe Leonessa who aim to win the second-consecutive title will face Vegalta Sendai Ladies who have advanced to the semi-finals for three consecutive years.

Nippon TV Beleza vs. Albirex Niigata Ladies

Nippon TV Beleza are filled with determination as they are looking to avenge the last year’s defeat in the semi-final. They were beaten by Albirex Niigata Ladies after a penalty shootout, missing their chance of winning back-to-back titles. Coach MORI Eiji says: “Albirex are not an easy team, but we definitely want to avenge the loss suffered in the semi-final last year. All of us are determined to grab the title of the Empress’s Cup this time.”

Beleza’s match results against Albirex for the past three years are 4 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws, while this season’s record is 1 win and 1 draw. However, most of these matches except two were closely contested with only a single goal difference. This semi-final is also expected to be a tight battle.

Beleza’s key players are midfielder SAKAGUCHI Mizuho, who is also a member of the Japan Women’s National Team, and the top scorer of the Nadeshiko League, Tanaka Mina, who tallied 18 goals with a stunning a goal per match average. They conceded only 8 goals all season and this is the least in the Nadeshiko League. The team also have five players who participated as the members of the bronze winning squad in the recent FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, including midfielder SUMIDA Rin and forward MOMIKI Yuka.

Coach Mori states that these players who experienced the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup have changed drastically after returning from the competition, particularly ‘their mentality to compete considering the international level and their determination to win the match’. The team will have more depth, and these young prospects are expected to show their strengths in the Empress’s Cup.

On the other hand, Albirex Niigata Ladies ended their Nadeshiko League in fifth place with 9 wins, 6 losses and 3 draws under the new coach, KARASHIMA Keiju, who took control of the team starting from this season. They also have national squad members including midfielder KAMIONOBE Megumi and defender NAKAMURA Kaede, and they are noted for their high work-rate and solid defence. In quarter-finals, they beat AC NAGANO PARCEIRO LADIES who ended the season in third place having the league’s second-top scorer YOKOYAMA Kumi, with a score of 2-0 and advanced to the semi-finals.

Coach Mori says “we need to find a way to open the scoring”, while Beleza’s Sakaguchi who used to play for Albirex before, expresses her excitement: “in the Empress’s Cup, we have to possess not only skills but also strong determination to win. We need to outrun the opponents. We will go all out.”

Vegalta Sendai Ladies vs. INAC Kobe Leonessa

This semi-final was also exactly the same as last year. In the previous year’s competition, INAC qualified for the final by beating Vegalta 2-0. This time, INAC are targeting to win the title for the second consecutive year. If they win, they will be hoisting the trophy for the sixth time in their team history

INAC ended this season’s Nadeshiko League in second place with 12 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw. The team gained strength after acquiring goalkeeper FUKUMOTO Miho in August. She has been a star player for the Japan Women’s National Team. On 18 September, she played for the first time in the league against Vegalta and contributed to the team’s victory by keeping a clean sheet. This ended the three-game losing streak, and the squad carried on to win five consecutive matches.

Fukumoto also helped the team in the quarter-final match against Urawa Reds Ladies by keeping the opponents scoreless. Her teammate MICHIGAMI Ayaka scored in the added minutes of extra time, winning the close contest with a final score of 1-0.

INAC have seen their young players making significant progress lately. Midfielder SUGITA Hina was named MVP of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, while forward KYOKAWA Mai scored six goals in this season, becoming the top ten in goal-scoring rate along with league’s well-known strikers, OHNO Shinobu and NAKAJIMA Emi.

The current coach, MATSUDA Takeo, is managing the team for two years. Previously he has led Beleza to win many titles, in addition to promoting the third division Gainare Tottori to the J. League Division 2. He says: “we want to climb to the summit again this year. But, first of all, we need to pour all our strengths into the up-coming match.”

On the other hand, Vegalta have advanced to the semi-finals for the third consecutive year. In the quarter-final match, they beat NOJIMA STELLA KANAGAWA SAGAMIHARA from Nadeshiko League Division 2 with a score of 2-0. They overwhelmed Nojima with a total of 21 shots with forward HAMADA Haruka and newly-acquired defender, KITAHARA Kana, scoring the important goals. They will try to qualify for the final for the first time.

Vegalta’s record against Beleza is 2 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, while this year they drew and lost once. Some key players such as national squad player KAWAMURA Yuri, midfielder NAKANO Manami, forward ARIMACHI Saori, and Hamada, are expected to perform well. Coach CHIBA Yasunobu has already announced his retirement at the end of this season, hence the team are looking to finish his career on a high note.

Both semi-final matches will be held at Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka. Beleza will face Albirex at 11:00, while Vegalta will meet INAC at 14:00.

Empress's Cup Semi-finals (12/23)

Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)

38th Empress's Cup All Japan Women's Football Tournament

2016-10-22(Sat.) ～ 2016-12-25(Sun.)
Quarter-finals：17 December (Sat.)　Yurtec Stadium Sendai・Pikara Stadium (Kagawa Prefecture Marugame Stadium)
Semi-finals：23 December(Fri.)　Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka 
Final：25 December(Sun.)　Fukuda Denshi Arena

Tournament Information
Ticket Information (Japanese version only)