In the afternoon, an official press conference was held at Kashima Stadium, attended by Manager Oiwa and player Kento Misao.
Manager Go Oiwa:
"Naturally, the feeling of fighting as representatives of Japan is in my heart. However, in the history of the Antlers club, how we overcome the Round of 16, how we break through this wall, that is what I am more focused on, and I want to concentrate on these two matches."
Kento Misao:
"Last season, we were eliminated by away goals. We want to win without conceding a goal and carry that momentum into the second leg. (Regarding countermeasures against Shanghai SIPG's foreign players) First of all, in one-on-one situations, I think it's important to get in front of the opponent in terms of challenging for the ball and anticipating. Even if we don't win one-on-one, I want to play smart defense by cooperating with surrounding players in challenge and cover situations, and picking up loose balls."
From Shanghai SIPG, Manager Vitor Pereira and player Elkeson attended.
Manager Vitor Pereira:
"I hope it will be our day against Antlers. We need to get our overall organization in order. Antlers is a great team, and they have players of excellent quality both as a team and individually, so I don't think it will be an easy match for us. I hope we can create many scoring chances and convert them to achieve a good result for ourselves. I think it will be a difficult match, but if we do what we need to do, control Antlers' attack, and play our own game, that would be great. I also hope we can deliver a good result to our supporters. Both we and Antlers are primarily teams that play with possession, so I hope we can both perform and finish the match in a favorable position for us."
Elkeson:
"I'm happy to play in Japan again. I'm also a fan of Japanese football. I saw a picture of Oswaldo (Oliveira, former manager), who was my manager at a previous team. I'm honored to play against a team where he achieved great things. However, my current manager, Vitor Pereira, has told me what we need to do in our meeting. I want to execute that well. We will respect our opponent, organize what we need to do in the match, make adjustments during the game, and hope to have a good advantage for the next round. I want to do my best to remain in the ACL."
After the official press conference, Shanghai SIPG held an official practice at Kashima Stadium. During the open practice, they did a ball-passing drill after a warm-up.
