The public practice included warm-ups and pass & control drills.
In the afternoon, an official press conference was held at Kashima Stadium, attended by Manager Oiwa and player Uchida.
Manager Go Oiwa:
"Due to the regulations, our home game is first, but we are approaching this match with the aim of maximizing our home advantage to win the first leg. The players understand that this is the first half of a 180-minute tie. We've been able to maintain our lead going into the second leg in previous matches, so I hope we can leverage our home advantage in this game, take a lead in the first 90 minutes, and keep a clean sheet. We've been able to transition from 'good defense to good offense' in recent matches. In this game as well, I want us to fight with a solid defensive effort from the front line as a whole team from the start. Since we are at home, I want to create many scoring opportunities and play aggressively on both offense and defense. We've challenged this wall several times and been repelled, but this year, the club staff and players united to overcome the Round of 16 barrier. The result of everyone working together towards the goal broke that wall. However, we started this season with the goal of becoming champions, so advancing to the very end is our natural objective. We are constantly preparing to achieve victory in the very end, so we will approach this match with the mindset of winning the game in front of us. As a result, I hope we can advance to the final and win there as well. We keep talking about our long-cherished wish, but the feeling of wanting to win this title has permeated the entire team. We will approach this match with the determination to win."
Player Atsuto Uchida:
"It doesn't matter whether we play at home or away first, but for now, we see this as half the battle. We'll play 90 minutes, then after a break (until the second leg), we'll play another 90 minutes. In the second leg, it will be a completely different atmosphere because we will have an understanding of the opponent's characteristics, the demeanor of the players we're facing, and their technique. But this time, we're at home first. We just need to win decisively and do what we can. The reason for our clean sheets or low number of goals conceded is largely due to not just the defense and goalkeeper, but also the forwards, midfielders, and defenders working compactly with the same defensive awareness. When the season started, we struggled to get points, but the manager and the team's message and actions haven't changed since then, so I think it's started to sink in. If we concede a soft goal from a set piece in such situations, the game won't tighten up. We want to help each other as a team and aim for a strong defense. The ACL is the only title Antlers hasn't won, so we definitely want to target that. I remember Manager Go scoring from a corner kick against Suwon Samsung when he was a player. We've challenged for it since then but haven't been able to win it, and I believe I also came back to Antlers to win a title. Looking at the current squad, I think we have players with the quality to achieve that. The opponent is a good Korean team, so this match will be of a high level. We have three Koreans on our team, so we definitely don't want to lose for their sake."
From Suwon Samsung, Manager Lee Byung-keun and player Saric, who joined in the summer transfer window, attended.
Manager Lee Byung-keun:
"We beat Jeonbuk in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals for the first time in seven years. Both the players and I want to approach this match cautiously."
Player Saric:
"The four teams remaining in the semi-finals are representative of Asia, and we absolutely want to win this match and then face the second leg. Our players and staff are united, and we want to win the match."
After the official press conference, Suwon Samsung held their official practice at Kashima Stadium.
