Emperor Cup: Osaka Sakura is strong, and there is no hope of upgrading to Tokushima Uzumaki?

Emperor Cup: Osaka Sakura VS Tokushima Uzumaki

Match time: 2025-07-16 17:30 Wednesday

Team recent situation analysis:

Osaka Sakura has declined recently, and currently has a record of nine wins, six draws and eight losses, ranking ninth in the league. Since the players were unable to find the feeling of the game at the beginning of the season, even though Osaka Sakura showed good points-grabbing ability in the future, the team's league ranking was still low. Moreover, the competitive state of the main players in the league in recent rounds has been fluctuating again, which has led to a slowdown in Osaka Sakura's goal. This time, Osaka Sakura should not invest too much energy and physical fitness in the Emperor's Cup. After all, improving the league ranking as soon as possible is the team's primary goal.

Of course, some fans may say that the Emperor's Cup has always been very important for Japanese teams. Most Japanese teams will invest more energy in this event, so Osaka Sakura will definitely not deal with the matter casually. At least the players' fighting spirit should be guaranteed. However, looking at the previous seasons, Osaka Sakura did not achieve very good results in the Emperor Cup. It was eliminated in the third round of the 2024 season, and the 2023 season stopped in the fourth round. It failed to enter the knockout stage of the Emperor Cup for two consecutive seasons. This alone is enough to prove that Osaka Sakura does not attach much importance to this cup. Then the team's league situation is not good at this stage, and it is unlikely to devote its energy to the Emperor Cup.

Tokushima Uzumaki have been playing in the secondary league in recent seasons. The team is currently ranked sixth in the league with a record of 10 wins, eight draws and five losses. Although Tokushima Uzumaki has not been able to taste the taste of victory in three consecutive league rounds, the team still occupies the top six seats in the league with the points advantage accumulated in the early stages of the league. However, at this stage, the two teams of Tokushima Uzumaki, Iwada Joy and Nagasaki Navigation have the same points. If the subsequent players cannot regain their competitive state in time, then Tokushima Uzumaki will have the possibility of being squeezed out of the top six at any time. To return to the Japanese vocational league, the top leaders of Tokushima Uzumaki have been looking forward to it for a long time. Obviously, this team should be retained in the Emperor's Cup.

It is worth mentioning that although the Tokushima Uzumaki has poor performance recently, the team still maintains a seven-game unbeaten away game record. It seems that the players can show their own characteristics in away games. Not only is the strength of the mid- and backcourt defense guaranteed, but the quality of the counterattack has also been improved. In addition, the Tokushima Uzumaki's usual formation is a relatively moderate 442 formation, with sufficient defenders in the backcourt defense. It is basically difficult for the opponents to easily break through the mid- and backcourt defense line of Tokushima Uzumaki. It just so happens that this round of the Emperor Cup opponent Osaka Sakura is another team with slightly offensive, strong defense and weak attributes. Then Tokushima Uzumaki's defensive counterattack tactics should be able to fully demonstrate their defense in this game.

Event analysis:

Since Tokushima Uzumaki has been fighting in the secondary league for several seasons, the last time Osaka Sakura played against Tokushima Uzumaki can be traced back to the 2021 Japanese league field. At that time, Osaka Sakura had won and lost two matches, and she failed to get any advantage from Tokushima Uzumaki. Although Osaka Sakura's paper strength is definitely stronger than its opponent, since Osaka Sakura has a large demand for league points at this stage, it should not do its best in the Emperor's Cup. Even the team's coach is very likely to adopt the main rest strategy to confront Tokushima Uzumaki. Tokushima Uzumaki's away game ability is relatively guaranteed in the near future. Even if the club's senior management also hopes to focus their energy on the league level, the players will definitely hope to attract more top teams through the Emperor's Cup. I believe that even if Tokushima Uzumaki cannot solve the battle in this game, it should be very promising to retain the suspense of advancement to the overtime stage with the players' stronger desire to win and their recent good away game ability.