2018 Emperor's Cup

The 98th Emperor's Cup (天皇杯 JFA 第98回全日本サッカー選手権大会) was the 2018 edition of the annual Japanese national football cup tournament, which began on 26 May 2018 and ended with the final on 9 December 2018 at the Saitama Stadium 2002. The final was held earlier than the usual date of 1 January due to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The draw for the first four rounds was held on 29 March 2018.

As a result of its win, Urawa Red Diamonds automatically qualified to the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League.

88 clubs competed in the tournament. Clubs playing in the 2018 J1 League and 2018 J2 League received a bye to the second round of the tournament. The remaining teams entered in the first round.

The first round matches were held on 26 and 27 May 2018.

The second round matches were held on 6 June 2018.

Urawa Red Diamonds v YSCC Yokohama

6 June 2018	Urawa Red Diamonds	3–0	YSCC Yokohama	Saitama
19:00	Own goal34' (o.g.) Koroki45+2' (pen.) Yamada90'	Report		Stadium: Urawa Komaba Stadium Attendance: 4,276 Referee: N. Murakami

Notes

The third round matches were held on 11 July and 22 August 2018.

Urawa Red Diamonds v Matsumoto Yamaga

11 July 2018	Urawa Red Diamonds	2–1	Matsumoto Yamaga	Matsumoto
19:00	Maurício42',85'	Report	Nagai10'	Stadium: Matsumotodaira Park Stadium Attendance: 12,077 Referee: T. Kakinuma

Notes

The fourth round matches were held on 22 August and 26 September 2018.

Montedio Yamagata v FC Tokyo

22 August 2018	Montedio Yamagata	1–1 (a.e.t.) (7–6 p)	FC Tokyo	Tendō
19:00	Sakano9'	Report	Oliveira7' (pen.)	Stadium: ND Soft Stadium Yamagata Attendance: 3,515 Referee: Yukie Kobaya
	Penalties
	Alves Lopes Kobayashi Yamada Nakamura Kumamoto Anzai		Morishige Jang Hyun-soo Higashi Nagai Yonemoto Muroya Togashi

Kashima Antlers v Sanfrecce Hiroshima

26 September 2018	Kashima Antlers	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Kashima
19:00	Silva96' Misao117'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 3,832 Referee: Toru Kakinuma

The quarter-finals were held on 24 October 2018 and 21 November 2018.

Júbilo Iwata v Vegalta Sendai

24 October 2018	Júbilo Iwata	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Vegalta Sendai	Iwata
19:03	Ogawa9'	Report	Germain86'	Stadium: Yamaha Stadium Attendance: 4,068 Referee: Takuto Okabe
	Penalties
	Ogawa Araki Oi Uehara Miyazaki		Nagato Notsuda Ishihara Germain Havenaar

The semi-finals were originally scheduled to be held on 16 December 2018. However, the semi-finals were rescheduled after Kashima Antlers won the 2018 AFC Champions League, which would have created a scheduling conflict with Kashima's participation in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.

The final was originally scheduled to be held on 24 December 2018. However, as it was the case for the semi-finals, it had to be rescheduled due to possible conflict with Kashima Antlers participation on the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.

• Japan Football Association page on the Emperor's Cup (Japanese)