2016 J.League Cup
| J.League YBC Levain Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | Japan | 
| Teams | 18 | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Urawa Red Diamonds (2nd title) | 
| Runners-up | Gamba Osaka | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Toshiyuki Takagi (4 goals) | 
The 2016 J.League Cup (also known as the 2016 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, later changed to 2016 J.League YBC Levain Cup for sponsoring purposes) was the 41st edition of the most prestigious Japanese football league cup tournament and the 24th edition under the current J.League Cup format.
Format
Teams from the J1 League took part in the tournament. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Gamba Osaka, Urawa Red Diamonds and FC Tokyo were given a bye to the quarter-finals due to qualification in the 2016 AFC Champions League. The remaining 14 teams started from the group stage, where they were divided into two groups of seven. The group winners and the runners-up of each group qualified for the quarter-final along with the four teams which qualified for the AFC Champions League.
Group stage
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VIS | ARD | VEN | BEL | JÚB | ANT | GRA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vissel Kobe | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 16 | Knock-out stage | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | |||||
| 2 | Omiya Ardija | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 14 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||||||
| 3 | Ventforet Kofu | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 8 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | ||||||
| 4 | Shonan Bellmare | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 7 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 5 | Júbilo Iwata | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | ||||||
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 4 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | ||||||
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair-play points; 7) Draw.
Matches
| Kashima Antlers | 1–2 | Ventforet Kofu | 
|---|---|---|
| Yamamoto  60' | Report | Billy Celeski  6' Nilson  45' | 
| Júbilo Iwata | 1–2 | Vissel Kobe | 
|---|---|---|
| Saito  13' | Report | Pedro Júnior  35' Leandro  69' | 
| Vissel Kobe | 4–1 | Kashima Antlers | 
|---|---|---|
| Pedro Júnior  23', 64' Watanabe  37' Soma  75' | Report | Yamamoto  84' | 
| Nagoya Grampus | 1–3 | Kashima Antlers | 
|---|---|---|
| Noda  38' | Report | Endo  52' Caio  66' Shoji  71' | 
| Vissel Kobe | 1–1 | Omiya Ardija | 
|---|---|---|
| Watanabe  58' | Report | Esaka  17' | 
| Kashima Antlers | 2–3 | Shonan Bellmare | 
|---|---|---|
| Nagaki  11' Doi  26' | Report | Otsuki  18' Hasegawa  87' Hanato  90+4' | 
| Omiya Ardija | 1–0 | Júbilo Iwata | 
|---|---|---|
| Keisuke  25' | Report | 
| Ventforet Kofu | 0–2 | Vissel Kobe | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tanaka  64' Seigou  75' | 
| Kashima Antlers | 1–1 | Júbilo Iwata | 
|---|---|---|
| Sugimoto  58' | Report | Fujita  17' | 
| Vissel Kobe | 4–0 | Nagoya Grampus | 
|---|---|---|
| Nakasaka  10' Watanabe  19' Ishizu  88' Takahashi  90+3' | Report | 
| Shonan Bellmare | 0–2 | Vissel Kobe | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nakasaka  37' Fujita  90+1' | 
| Júbilo Iwata | 1–3 | Nagoya Grampus | 
|---|---|---|
| Bothroyd  64' | Report | Koyamatsu  27' Takeuchi  37' Kawamata  39' | 
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | FMA | AVI | FRO | REY | VEG | ALB | SAG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 11 | Knock-out stage | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | |||||
| 2 | Avispa Fukuoka | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 9 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | ||||||
| 3 | Kawasaki Frontale | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 8 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 4 | Kashiwa Reysol | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | ||||||
| 5 | Vegalta Sendai | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 8 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | ||||||
| 6 | Albirex Niigata | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 7 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–0 | ||||||
| 7 | Sagan Tosu | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair-play points; 7) Draw.
Matches
| Vegalta Sendai | 1–0 | Albirex Niigata | 
|---|---|---|
| Enomoto  4' | Report | 
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2–2 | Kashiwa Reysol | 
|---|---|---|
| Jogo  17' Wellington  30' | Report | Wako  55' Tanaka  77' | 
| Albirex Niigata | 0–5 | Kawasaki Frontale | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Taniguchi  8', 23' Kano  20', 83' Hashimoto  48' | 
| Sagan Tosu | 1–1 | Vegalta Sendai | 
|---|---|---|
| Baek Sung-dong  38' | Report | Kim Min-Tae  86' | 
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 1–3 | Kashiwa Reysol | 
|---|---|---|
| Togashi  5' | Report | Nakagawa  42' Masushima  50', 68' | 
| Kashiwa Reysol | 2–1 | Kawasaki Frontale | 
|---|---|---|
| Diego Oliveira  39' Taketomi  90+4' | Report | Eduardo Neto  72' | 
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1–2 | Albirex Niigata | 
|---|---|---|
| Diego Oliveira  66' | Report | Ito  55' Kozuka  72' | 
| Sagan Tosu | 1–1 | Kawasaki Frontale | 
|---|---|---|
| Tomiyama  72' | Report | Kim Min-hyeok  16' (o.g.) | 
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2–1 | Avispa Fukuoka | 
|---|---|---|
| Hyodo  73' Ito  90+4' | Report | Hirai  31' | 
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2–1 | Vegalta Sendai | 
|---|---|---|
| Otsuka  43', 48' | Report | Ramon Lopes  85' | 
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1–1 | Sagan Tosu | 
|---|---|---|
| Hirai  85' | Report | Toyoda  45' | 
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Nakamura  42' Saito  61' | 
| Avispa Fukuoka | 4–2 | Albirex Niigata | 
|---|---|---|
| Kanamori  16', 37' Hirai  19' Jogo  68' | Report | Yamazaki  6' Suzuki  82' | 
| Sagan Tosu | 1–1 | Kashiwa Reysol | 
|---|---|---|
| Ikeda  31' | Report | Éderson  79' | 
Knock-out stage
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| Yokohama F. Marinos (a) | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Omiya Ardija | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Gamba Osaka (a) | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Gamba Osaka | 1 | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| Gamba Osaka | 1 (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| Vissel Kobe | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| FC Tokyo | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| FC Tokyo | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
First leg
| Omiya Ardija | 2–1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 
|---|---|---|
| Mateus  23' Ienaga  87' | Report | Kanai  71' | 
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1–1 | Gamba Osaka | 
|---|---|---|
| Shibasaki  28' | Report | Goya  86' | 
| Vissel Kobe | 1–2 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 
|---|---|---|
| Leandro  35' | Report | Takagi  6' Zlatan  41' | 
| FC Tokyo | 1–1 | Avispa Fukuoka | 
|---|---|---|
| Nakajima  62' | Report | Mishima  90' | 
Second leg
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 1–0 | Omiya Ardija | 
|---|---|---|
| Kayke  45+1' | Report | 
2–2 on aggregate. Yokohama F. Marinos won on away goals
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 4–0 | Vissel Kobe | 
|---|---|---|
| Takagi  39', 60' Abe  43' Lee  84' | Report | 
Urawa Red Diamonds won 6-1 on aggregate.
| Gamba Osaka | 6–3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 
|---|---|---|
| Nagasawa  32', 45+2' Niwa  55' Ademilson  60', 63' Abe  71' | Report | Nogami  24' Morisaki  52' Minagawa  79' | 
Gamba Osaka won 7-4 on aggregate.
| Avispa Fukuoka | 0–2 | FC Tokyo | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tanabe  30' Takahashi  75' | 
FC Tokyo won 3-1 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
First leg
Second leg
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 1–1 | Gamba Osaka | 
|---|---|---|
| Ito  56' | Report |  63' Endō | 
1–1 on aggregate. Gamba Osaka won on away goals
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 3–1 | FC Tokyo | 
|---|---|---|
| Koroki  24', 38', 53' | Report |  81' Nakajima | 
Urawa Red Diamonds won 5-2 on aggregate.
Final
| Gamba Osaka | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Urawa Red Diamonds | 
|---|---|---|
| Ademilson  17' |  76' Lee | |
| Penalties | ||
| Fujimoto  Konno  Niwa  Goya  Endō  | 4–5 |  Abe  Otani  Koroki  Lee  Endo | 
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Toshiyuki Takagi | Urawa Red Diamonds | 4 | 
| 2 |  Shinzo Koroki | Urawa Red Diamonds | 3 | 
|  Pedro Júnior | Vissel Kobe | ||
|  Kazuma Watanabe | Vissel Kobe | ||
|  Shoki Hirai | Avispa Fukuoka | ||
|  Sho Ito | Yokohama F. Marinos | 
Updated to games played on 15 October 2016
Names of players in bold are still active.
 Source: J. League Data 
