DANIEL POYATOS, Head Coach: "The match against Kashima will be an important one for us to improve for the second half of the season. Kashima has a lot of talent, and under a great Head Coach, I think they have a good technique and tactics. They have two strong players, Leonardo De Sousa Pereira(LEO CEARA) and Yuma SUZUKI, and I think that all of their players, including Aleksandar CAVRIC and Misao, will not forgive the other team's mistakes and will exploit them. They also have the mentality to win the title. But I personally think that this match will be a 50-50 draw. As the players showed, if we can increase our concentration and fight in the same way as we did in the matches against Urawa and Hiroshima, I believe we can definitely win."

FW7 Takashi USAMI "If we can choose to have the courage to keep the ball, we can play the same football as in the second half of the previous match and score points, so we want to carry that confidence into this match against Kashima. Kashima has a new Head Coach this season, but I don't think anything has changed about their basics, such as their ability to fight for the ball and their individual strengths. Kashima has individuality, but in the extreme, if we have the ball, the opponent will inevitably be less likely to use their individual strengths. If we can play football with a good sense of distance, where we can play various combinations while keeping possession of the ball and switch and get the ball back even if it is taken from us, I think we will be able to make it difficult for our opponents, no matter who they are."

GK22 Jun ICHIMORI "Kashima is coming with momentum, and I think they're in a situation where they can do anything and it will go well, so Gamba needs to read the flow of the game and play carefully as it's getting hotter. My impression of Kashima this year is that they have a stronger desire to have the ball, and on top of that, they've built a team with no gaps. Leonardo De Sousa Pereira(LEO CEARA) is a talented player, and I get the impression that other players are being pulled along by him, so it's not a team that just needs to contain him, so I think we really need to work together and fight. I think this is a game where we need three points in particular to keep the momentum going in the second half of the season."