2023 J.League Cup
The 2023 J.League Cup, known as the 2023 J.League YBC Levain Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is the 31st edition of J.League Cup, a Japanese association football cup competition. Opposed to the previous editions, the competition does not use the away goals rule. No byes awarded for the knockout stage and thus no knockout round playoffs. Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the defending champions, having beaten Cerezo Osaka 2–1 in the 2022 final to win their first J.League Cup title. They were unable to defend their title after their elimination in the group stage. Format 
All 18 teams in the 2023 J1 League participate as well as the top two relegated teams from the 2022 season. Different from the previous editions, no teams were awarded bye or a direct qualification for the knockout stage. The change was made due to AFC Champions League's calendar shift, as it adopts the spring-autumn season format from 2023 and got rid of the year-round format, thus having the 2023–24 group stage played from September 2023. Twenty teams played in the group stage, divided into five groups of four teams, allocated in each group by their finish on the 2022 J1 and J2 Leagues. Each group winners and the three best-placed runners-up qualified to the quarter-finals. This is the last season to feature a group stage in the competition. From 2024, it will be held as a single knockout competition like the EFL Cup and will see all clubs from the season's J1, J2, and J3 Leagues participate, thus including the clubs from all J.League divisions for the first time since 2001. Qualified teams

Schedule 
The schedule was confirmed along with the holding method of the competition on 20 December 2022. Group stage
Each group had its matches played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. Each match lasted 90 minutes. Each team played six times, twice against each opponent at home and away. Tiebreakers
In the group stage, teams in a group were ranked by points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If the points were tied, the following tiebreakers were applied accordingly:

 Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
 Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
 Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;

If more than two teams were tied, and applying all head-to-head criteria above remains a part of teams still tied, reapply the criteria above only for the tied teams. Goal difference in all group matches;
 Goals scored in all group matches;
 Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the sixth match of the group;
 Fewer disciplinary points;
 Drawing of lots. Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Ranking of runners-up
The three best runners-up from the five groups advanced to the knockout stage along with the five group winners. Knockout stage
In the knockout stage (also called the "Prime Stage" in Japan), which starts with the quarter-finals, the matches are played in two legs, except for the final. The aggregate winners of each tie would qualify for the next round. Should in the second leg of either the quarter-final or semi-final the aggregate score was tied, extra-time would have been played. Should  the draw stood, penalty shoot-outs would have been played to determine the tie winners. From this season on, the away goals rule would not be applied under any circumstances throughout the entire competition. The draw to decide the match-ups was held on 3 July 2023 at 12:00 JST. Bracket

Quarter-finals

Summary

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Matches

Nagoya Grampus won 3–2 on aggregate. Avispa Fukuoka won 2–1 on aggregate. Urawa Red Diamonds won 4–0 on aggregate. Yokohama F. Marinos won 5–3 on aggregate. Semi-finals

Summary

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Matches

Avispa Fukuoka won 2–0 on aggregate. Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate. Final
This is Avispa's first major tournament final, while for Urawa this is their seventh J.League Cup final, winning two from the previous six. Their most recent final was in 2016, which they won. Top scorers

References

External links 
Official website (in Japanese)

J.League Cup
2023 in Japanese football
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