Sanfrecce Hiroshima, aiming for their first victory in three tournaments, defeated Yokohama FC 2-0 away. MF Yotaro Nakajima (19) took the lead in the 33rd minute of the first half, and defender Shuto Nakano (25) took a super long shot in the 39th minute of the second half. The second match will be held at home in Hiroshima on the 12th.

Nakajima, 19, scored a waza-ari goal. In the 33rd minute of the first half, he ran into a long feed from the opposite corner from defender Tsukasa Shioya and entered the left side of the penalty area from the chest trap. With his back to the opposing defender, he pretended to play with his right foot, quickly turned around, and fired a left-footed shot into the near side from a position with no angle.

The highly anticipated technical player had scored goals in the Asia Champions League Elite (ACLE), but this was his first goal in an official J.League match. The Japanese national team was unable to participate in the U-20 (Under 20) World Cup, which is currently being held in Chile, due to poor conditions and withdrew after the first half of the day.

In the 39th minute of the second half, Nakano scored an extra point with a super long shot with his right foot from the left side near the center line. After that, they had some troubles, but they managed to win without conceding a goal thanks to their tenacious defense centered on the impregnable back three of Tsukasa Shioya, Hayato Araki, and Sho Sasaki.

[Levain Cup]Kawasaki F defeats Kashiwa in three shots Hiroshima wins first over Yokohama FC 2-0/Semi-final first match score