2022 J.League Cup
# 2022 J.League Cup

The 2022 J.League Cup, known as the 2022 J.League YBC Levain Cup (Japanese: 2022 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ) for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th edition of J.League Cup, a Japanese association football cup competition. It began on 23 February 2022 and ended on 22 October that year.

Nagoya Grampus were the cup holders, having won their first title in 2021. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Urawa Red Diamonds.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won their first League Cup title, beating Cerezo Osaka 2–1 in the final.

## Format

All 18 teams in the 2022 J1 League participated as well as the top two relegated teams from the 2021 league. Four clubs involved in the 2022 AFC Champions League received byes for the group and play-off stages: Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos, Vissel Kobe, and Urawa Red Diamonds.

Sixteen teams played in the group stage. They were divided into four groups of four teams by their finish on the 2021 J1 and J2 Leagues (parenthesized below).

* Group A: Kashima Antlers (J1 4th), Cerezo Osaka (J1 12th), Gamba Osaka (J1 13th), Oita Trinita (J1 18th).
* Group B: Nagoya Grampus (J1 5th), Sanfrecce Hiroshima (J1 11th), Shimizu S-Pulse (J1 14th), Tokushima Vortis (J1 17th).
* Group C: Sagan Tosu (J1 7th), Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (J1 10th), Kashiwa Reysol (J1 15th), Kyoto Sanga (J2 2nd).
* Group D: Avispa Fukuoka (J1 8th), FC Tokyo (J1 9th), Shonan Bellmare (J1 16th), Júbilo Iwata (J2 1st).

## Schedule

| Stage | Round | Date |
| - | - | - |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 23 February 2022 |
| Group stage | Matchday 2 | 2 March 2022 |
| Group stage | Matchday 3 | 26 March 2022 |
| Group stage | Matchday 4 | 13 April 2022 |
| Group stage | Matchday 5 | 23 April 2022 |
| Group stage | Matchday 6 | 18 May 2022 |
| Play-off stage | Play-off stage | 4 June 2022 (first leg) 11 June 2022 (second leg) |
| Prime stage |
| Prime stage | Quarter-finals | 3 August 2022 (first leg) 10 August 2022 (second leg) |
| Prime stage | Semi-finals | 21 September 2022 (first leg) 25 September 2022 (second leg) |
| Prime stage | Final | 22 October 2022 |

## Group stage

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

All times listed are in Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9).

### 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:

* 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;
* Away 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 are tied and they meet in the last round of the group;
* Fewer disciplinary points;
* Drawing of lots.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 13 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 2 | Cerezo Osaka | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 11 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 3 | Gamba Osaka | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 5 | |
| 4 | Oita Trinita | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 3 | |

* ↑ Originally was to be held on 23 February 2022, the match was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Oita Trinita squad.

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 12 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 2 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 10 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 3 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 8 | |
| 4 | Tokushima Vortis | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 4 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kyoto Sanga | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 10 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 2 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 8 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 3 | Kashiwa Reysol | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | |
| 4 | Sagan Tosu | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 6 | |

* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 3, Kashiwa Reysol 3. Head-to-head goal difference: Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 0, Kashiwa Reysol 0. Head-to-head goals scored: Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 4, Kashiwa Reysol 4. Head-to-head away goals: Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 3, Kashiwa Reysol 2.
* ↑ Originally was to be held on 26 March 2022, the match was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Kyoto Sanga squad.

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Shonan Bellmare | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 12 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 2 | Avispa Fukuoka | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 3 | Júbilo Iwata | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 7 | |
| 4 | FC Tokyo | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 5 | |

* ↑ Originally was to be held on 23 February 2022, the match was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the FC Tokyo squad.

## Play-off stage

### Summary

The play-off stage was played as two-legged ties of two teams each. The away goals rule, an extra time (away goals rule not applied for the scores in the extra time), and a penalty shoot-out were used if needed.

The play-off stage was held over two legs; on 4 (first), and 11 June 2022 (second). All times listed are in Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9).

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Kashima Antlers | 2–2 (a) | Avispa Fukuoka | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 4–1 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Kyoto Sanga | 1–7 | Nagoya Grampus | 1–6 | 0–1 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 1–5 | Cerezo Osaka | 0–1 | 1–4 |

### Matches

2–2 on aggregate. Avispa Fukuoka won on away goals.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won 4–1 on aggregate.

Nagoya Grampus won 7–1 on aggregate.

Cerezo Osaka won 5–1 on aggregate.

## Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played between four play-off winners and four teams qualified for the 2022 AFC Champions League as two-legged ties of two teams each. The away goals rule, an extra time (away goals rule not applied for the scores in the extra time), and a penalty shoot-out were used if needed.

The quarter-finals were held over two legs; on 3 (first) and 10 August 2022 (second). All times listed are in Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9). The draw was held on 29 June.

### Summary

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 4–1 | Nagoya Grampus | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 3–3 (a) | Cerezo Osaka | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2–5 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 3–1 | Vissel Kobe | 1–2 | 1–0 |

### Matches

Urawa Red Diamonds won 4–1 on aggregate.

3–3 on aggregate. Cerezo Osaka won on away goals.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won 5–2 on aggregate.

Avispa Fukuoka won 3–1 on aggregate.

## Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played between four quarter-final winners as two-legged ties of two teams each. The away goals rule, an extra time (away goals rule not applied for the scores in the extra time), and a penalty shoot-out would have been used if needed.

The semi-finals were held over two legs; on 21 (first) and 25 September 2022 (second). All times listed are in Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9). The draw was held on 10 August.

### Summary

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–5 | Cerezo Osaka | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 3–2 | Avispa Fukuoka | 2–3 | 0–0 |

### Matches

Cerezo Osaka won 5–1 on aggregate.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Final

This was Cerezo Osaka's third J.League Cup final and was seeking their second J.League Cup title (fifth with JSL Cup). This was also Sanfrecce Hiroshima's third J.League Cup final, losing the previous two.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Júnior Santos | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 |
| 2 | Mutsuki Kato | Cerezo Osaka | 5 |
| 3 | Masaki Ikeda | Shonan Bellmare | 4 |
| 3 | Yugo Masukake | Kashiwa Reysol | 4 |
| 3 | Taika Nakashima | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 4 |
| 6 | Juanma | Avispa Fukuoka | 3 |
| 6 | Sota Kitano | Cerezo Osaka | 3 |
| 6 | Lukian | Avispa Fukuoka | 3 |
| 6 | Mateus | Nagoya Grampus | 3 |
| 6 | Shun Nagasawa | Oita Trinita | 3 |
| 6 | Hirotaka Tameda | Cerezo Osaka | 3 |
| 6 | Ayase Ueda | Kashima Antlers | 3 |
