2021 Kashima Antlers season

Kashima Antlers

2021 season
Chairman	Fumiaki Koizumi
Manager	Antônio Carlos Zago (until 13 April) [1] Naoki Soma (interim) (until 5 December) [2]
Stadium	Kashima Soccer Stadium
J1 League	4th
Emperor's Cup	Quarter finals
J.League Cup	Quarter finals
Top goalscorer	League: Ayase Ueda (14 goals) All: Ayase Ueda (19 goals)
Highest home attendance	16,518 (v. Urawa Reds, J1 League, 7 November 2021) [3]
Lowest home attendance	3,586 (v. Gamba Osaka, J1 League, 18 September 2021) [4]
Biggest win	8–1 (v. YSCC Yokohama, Emperor's Cup, 16 June 2021) [5]
Biggest defeat	0–3 (v. Avispa Fukuoka, J1 League, 11 September 2021) [6]
Home colours Away colours Third colours
←  2020 2022  →

The 2021 season was Kashima Antlers' 29th consecutive season in the J1 League, the top flight of Japanese football since the introduction of professional football in 1993. The club finished the 2021 J1 League in fourth place, one place above their position from the previous season. ^[7] They also competed in the Emperor's Cup and J.League Cup and reached the quarter-finals of both competitions.

After a poor start to the season losing four of their first six league games, manager Antônio Carlos Zago was dismissed in April 2021 and was replaced by Naoki Soma as interim manager who would take control until the end of the season.

Squad

Season squad

Squad no.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (age at start of season)
Goalkeepers
1	Kwoun Sun-tae		GK	(1984-09-11)11 September 1984 (aged 36)
29	Tomoki Hayakawa		GK	(1999-03-03)3 March 1999 (aged 21)
31	Yuya Oki		GK	(1999-08-22)22 August 1999 (aged 21)
38	Taiki Yamada		GK	(2002-01-08)8 January 2002 (aged 19)
Defenders
2	Koki Anzai		RB / LB	(1995-05-31)31 May 1995 (aged 25)
14	Katsuya Nagato		LB	(1995-01-15)15 January 1995 (aged 26)
22	Rikuto Hirose		RB	(1995-09-23)23 September 1995 (aged 25)
23	Naoki Hayashi		CB	(1998-06-09)9 June 1998 (aged 22)
28	Koki Machida		CB	(1997-08-25)25 August 1997 (aged 23)
32	Keigo Tsunemoto		RB / CB	(1998-10-21)21 October 1998 (aged 22)
33	Ikuma Sekigawa		CB	(2000-09-13)13 September 2000 (aged 20)
39	Tomoya Inukai		CB	(1993-05-12)12 May 1993 (aged 27)
Midfielders
4	Léo Silva		DM	(1985-12-24)24 December 1985 (aged 35)
6	Ryota Nagaki		DM	(1988-06-04)4 June 1988 (aged 32)
7	Juan Alano		RM / AM / SS	(1996-09-02)2 September 1996 (aged 24)
11	Ryuji Izumi		LM / RW	(1993-11-06)6 November 1993 (aged 27)
17	Arthur Caíke		LW / FW	(1992-06-15)15 June 1992 (aged 28)
20	Kento Misao (c)		DM	(1996-04-16)16 April 1996 (aged 24)
21	Diego Pituca		CM	(1992-08-15)15 August 1992 (aged 28)
24	Yusuke Ogawa		DM / CM	(2002-04-14)14 April 2002 (aged 18)
25	Yasushi Endo		RM / RW	(1988-04-07)7 April 1988 (aged 32)
26	Naoki Suto		LM / RM	(2002-10-01)1 October 2002 (aged 18)
27	Yuta Matsumura		RM / LM	(2001-04-13)13 April 2001 (aged 19)
34	Yu Funabashi		DM	(2002-07-12)12 July 2002 (aged 18)
Forwards
8	Shoma Doi		SS / LW / RW	(1992-05-21)21 May 1992 (aged 28)
9	Everaldo		FW	(1991-07-05)5 July 1991 (aged 29)
13	Ryotaro Araki		FW / LW / RW	(2002-01-29)29 January 2002 (aged 19)
18	Ayase Ueda		FW	(1998-08-28)28 August 1998 (aged 22)
19	Itsuki Someno		FW	(2001-09-12)12 September 2001 (aged 19)

Last updated: 20 July 2021.
Source: Soccer D.B.

Transfers

Arrivals

Date	Position	Player	From	Type	Source
12 January 2021	MF	Arthur Caíke	Al-Shabab	Full	[8]
15 January 2021	MF	Diego Pituca	Santos FC	Full	[9]
1 February 2021	MF	Yusuke Ogawa	Shohei High School	Full	[10]
1 February 2021	MF	Naoki Suto	Shohei High School	Full	[11]
17 February 2021	DF	Keigo Tsunemoto	Meiji University	Full	[12]
17 February 2021	GK	Tomoki Hayakawa	Meiji University	Full	[13]
17 February 2021	DF	Naoki Hayashi	Osaka University of H&SS	Full	[14]
19 July 2021	DF	Koki Anzai	Portimonense	Full	[15]
24 July 2021	DF	Bueno	Atlético Mineiro	Return from loan	[16]

Departures

Date	Position	Player	To	Type	Source
23 December 2020	DF	Shuto Yamamoto	Shonan Bellmare	Full	[17]
24 December 2020	GK	Hitoshi Sogahata		Retired	[18]
28 December 2020	DF	Itsuki Oda	JEF United Chiba	Loan	[19]
29 December 2020	DF	Yukitoshi Ito	JEF United Chiba	Full	[20]
5 January 2021	FW	Leandro	FC Tokyo	Full	[21]
13 January 2021	FW	Kazuma Yamaguchi	Matsumoto Yamaga	Full	[22]
15 January 2021	FW	Sho Ito	Yokohama FC	Full	[23]
18 January 2021	DF	Tatsuki Nara	Avispa Fukuoka	Loan	[24]
1 February 2021	MF	Shintaro Nago	Shonan Bellmare	Loan	[25]
10 August 2021	DF	Daiki Sugioka	Shonan Bellmare	Loan	[26]
10 August 2021	MF	Kei Koizumi	Sagan Tosu	Full	[27]
11 August 2021	MF	Ryōhei Shirasaki	Sagan Tosu	Loan	[28]

Competitions

J1 League

Main article: 2021 J1 League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Yokohama F. Marinos	38	24	7	7	82	35	+47	79	Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage
3	Vissel Kobe	38	21	10	7	62	36	+26	73	Qualification for the AFC Champions League play-off round
4	Kashima Antlers	38	21	6	11	62	36	+26	69
5	Nagoya Grampus	38	19	9	10	44	30	+14	66
6	Urawa Red Diamonds	38	18	9	11	45	38	+7	63 [lower-alpha 1]	Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage [lower-alpha 2]

Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League, J.League Data Site
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.
Notes:

1. The JPFL awarded a 3–0 win to Shonan Bellmare after Urawa Red Diamonds fielded Zion Suzuki who was an ineligible player. The original score was 3–2 for Shonan Bellmare. ^{[29] [30]}
2. Qualified as winners of the 2021 Emperor's Cup.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	21	6	11	62	36	+26	69	10	4	5	32	20	+12	11	2	6	30	16	+14

Last updated: 4 December 2021.
Source: J.League data site

Results by matchday

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	A
Result	L	W	D	L	L	L	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	L	W	L	D	D	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	W	D	W	W
Position	17	13	11	14	15	16	14	15	12	13	10	9	7	6	7	6	8	8	9	7	8	6	5	3	6	5	3	7	7	6	6	6	6	5	4	5	4	4

Updated to match(es) played on 4 December 2021. Source: J. League data site
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Kashima Antlers v Shimizu S-Pulse

27 February 20211	Kashima Antlers	1–3	Shimizu S-Pulse	Kashima
15:03 JST	Araki 75'	Report	Thiago Santana 78' Goto 83' Ueda 88' (o.g.)	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 9,312 Referee: Hajime Matsuo

Kashima Antlers v Shonan Bellmare

10 March 20212	Kashima Antlers	3–1	Shonan Bellmare	Kashima
19:03 JST	Araki 3', 60' Hirose  53' Machida 89'	Report	Ohno  73' Okamoto 86'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,546 Referee: Ryuji Sato
Note: Gameweek 3

Kashima Antlers v Sanfrecce Hiroshima

13 March 20213	Kashima Antlers	1–1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Kashima
16:03 JST	Silva  25' Araki 75' Sugioka  90+4'	Report	Asano 30'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 6,829 Referee: Nobutsugu Murakami
Note: Gameweek 4

Avispa Fukuoka v Kashima Antlers

17 March 20214	Avispa Fukuoka	1–0	Kashima Antlers	Fukuoka
18:03 JST	Shigehiro  60' Kanamori 85' Mae  88'	Report	Sekigawa  37' Hirose  56' Machida  61' Nagato  71' Matsumura  90+6'	Stadium: Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 4,510 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura
Note: Gameweek 5

Kashima Antlers v Nagoya Grampus

21 March 20215	Kashima Antlers	0–1	Nagoya Grampus	Kashima
16:03 JST	Koizumi  56' Araki  63' Inukai  66'  82' Machida  90+2' Everaldo  90+5'	Report	Inagaki 59' Yonemoto  90+5'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 7,809 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura
Note: Gameweek 6

Urawa Red Diamonds v Kashima Antlers

3 April 20216	Urawa Red Diamonds	2–1	Kashima Antlers	Saitama
15:04 JST	Yamanaka  19' Akimoto 37' Makino 66' (pen.)	Report	Ueda  39' Sekigawa 45+2' Tsunemoto  63' Funabashi  90+4'	Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 9,975 Referee: Yusuke Araki
Note: Gameweek 7

Kashima Antlers v Kashiwa Reysol

7 April 20217	Kashima Antlers	2–1	Kashiwa Reysol	Kashima
19:01 JST	Everaldo  33' Ueda 63' Shirasaki 88' Misao  90+4'	Report	Ominami  13' Nakama  49'65'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,550 Referee: Hajime Matsuo
Note: Gameweek 8

Consadole Sapporo v Kashima Antlers

11 April 20218	Consadole Sapporo	2–2	Kashima Antlers	Sapporo
13:08 JST	Tanaka 26'	Report	Nagato 9' Ueda 20' Misao  79'	Stadium: Sapporo Dome Attendance: 10,342 Referee: Hayato Shimizu
Note: Gameweek 9. Zago's last game in charge

Tokushima Vortis v Kashima Antlers

17 April 20219	Tokushima Vortis	0–1	Kashima Antlers	Tokushima
14:03 JST	Iwao  45+3'	Report	Machida 31' Silva  87'	Stadium: Pocari Sweat Stadium Attendance: 5,748 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi
Note: Gameweek 10

Kashima Antlers v Vissel Kobe

24 April 202110	Kashima Antlers	1–1	Vissel Kobe	Kashima
17:03 JST	Ueda 64'	Report	Furuhashi 28'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 10,223 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima
Note: Gameweek 11

Yokohama FC v Kashima Antlers

1 May 202111	Yokohama FC	0–3	Kashima Antlers	Yokohama
19:03 JST	Maejima  71'	Report	Shirasaki 12' Doi 45+2' Machida 80'	Stadium: NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium Attendance: 4,896 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto
Note: Gameweek 12

Kashima Antlers v FC Tokyo

9 May 202112	Kashima Antlers	3–0	FC Tokyo	Kashima
17:01 JST	Machida 22' Matsumura 45' Ueda 87'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 7,346 Referee: Nobutsugu Murakami
Note: Gameweek 13

Nagoya Grampus v Kashima Antlers

12 May 202113	Nagoya Grampus	0–2	Kashima Antlers	Toyota
19:03 JST	Nakatani  90+3'	Report	Inukai 32' Sugioka 86'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 4,844 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima
Note: Gameweek 21

Kashima Antlers v Yokohama F. Marinos

15 May 202114	Kashima Antlers	5–3	Yokohama F. Marinos	Kashima
15:03 JST	Doi 40', 46', 53' (pen.) Tsunemoto  43'  86' Araki 55' Ueda 77'	Report	Onaiwu 25', 74' Ohgihara  29' Élber  41' Amano 90'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 11,630 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto

Sagan Tosu v Kashima Antlers

22 May 202115	Sagan Tosu	2–1	Kashima Antlers	Tosu
14:03 JST	Eduardo  41' Yamashita 50' Higuchi 79' Hwang  87'	Report	Matsumura 14'	Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Attendance: 7,079 Referee: Hayato Shimizu

Kashima Antlers v Cerezo Osaka

26 May 202116	Kashima Antlers	1–0	Cerezo Osaka	Kashima
19:03 JST	Inukai  31' Araki 72'	Report	Maruhashi  50'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 5,977 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

Kawasaki Frontale v Kashima Antlers

30 May 202117	Kawasaki Frontale	2–1	Kashima Antlers	Kawasaki
19:01 JST	Damião 19' Jesiel  41' Kobayashi 90+4'	Report	Ueda 61' Nagato  90+2'	Stadium: Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium Attendance: 4,958 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Kashima Antlers v Vegalta Sendai

20 June 202118	Kashima Antlers	1–1	Vegalta Sendai	Kashima
17:03 JST	Pituca  65' Inukai  84' Alano 90+7'	Report	Nishimura 63' Stojisic  90+5'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 9,312 Referee: Koei Koya

Oita Trinita v Kashima Antlers

23 June 202119	Oita Trinita	0–0	Kashima Antlers	Ōita
19:03 JST		Report	Machida  33'	Stadium: Showa Denko Dome Oita Attendance: 4,208 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

Kashima Antlers v Consadole Sapporo

27 June 202120	Kashima Antlers	4–0	Consadole Sapporo	Kashima
18:33 JST	Inukai 10' Pituca 48' Tsunemoto 63' Everaldo 68'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 7,953 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Kashiwa Reysol v Kashima Antlers

11 July 202121	Kashiwa Reysol	2–1	Kashima Antlers	Kashiwa
19:03 JST	Richardson  16' Raúl  45+1'57' Cristiano 53'	Report	Misao  56' Inukai  65'89' Everaldo  83'	Stadium: Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium Attendance: 3,854 Referee: Yusuke Araki
Note: Gameweek 22

Gamba Osaka v Kashima Antlers

24 July 202122	Gamba Osaka	0–1	Kashima Antlers	Suita
19:03 JST	Yajima  37'	Report	Arthur 72'	Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita Attendance: 4,961 Referee: Hajime Matsuo
Note: Gameweek 2

Shonan Bellmare v Kashima Antlers

9 August 202123	Shonan Bellmare	1–2	Kashima Antlers	Hiratsuka
19:03 JST	Ohashi 13'	Report	Inukai 29', 90+2' Silva  67' Nagato  89'	Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka Attendance: 4,473 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Kashima Antlers v Tokushima Vortis

15 August 202124	Kashima Antlers	3–0	Tokushima Vortis	Kashima
18:33 JST	Araki 5', 80' Machida 90'	Report	Dušan  3' Suzuki  59'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 7,139 Referee: Ryuji Sato

Vissel Kobe v Kashima Antlers

21 August 202125	Vissel Kobe	1–0	Kashima Antlers	Kobe
18:03 JST	Yamaguchi 79'	Report	Pituca  43' Inukai  80'	Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 6,426 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Shimizu S-Pulse v Kashima Antlers

25 August 202126	Shimizu S-Pulse	0–4	Kashima Antlers	Shizuoka
19:03 JST	Ibusuki  68' Fujimoto  72'	Report	Ueda 18' Arthur 44' Izumi 81' Endo 88'	Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira Attendance: 4,356 Referee: Jumpei Iida

Yokohama F. Marinos v Kashima Antlers

28 August 202127	Yokohama F. Marinos	0–2	Kashima Antlers	Yokohama
19:04 JST	Wada  84'	Report	Araki 15' Ueda 30'	Stadium: Nissan Stadium Attendance: 4,892 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Kashima Antlers v Avispa Fukuoka

11 September 202128	Kashima Antlers	0–3	Avispa Fukuoka	Kashima
18:04 JST	Pituca  88'	Report	Juanma 26', 41' Grolli  35' Yamagishi 64' Croux  78'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 0 [lower-alpha 1] Referee: Ryo Tanimoto

Kashima Antlers v Gamba Osaka

18 September 202129	Kashima Antlers	3–1	Gamba Osaka	Kashima
18:03 JST	Alano  34'60' Ueda 52' Doi 73'	Report	Kim  47' Tiago Alves 80' (pen.) Suganuma  84'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 3,586 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

Kashima Antlers v Kawasaki Frontale

22 September 202130	Kashima Antlers	1–2	Kawasaki Frontale	Kashima
19:03 JST	Alano 61' Arthur  90+5'	Report	Yamamura 83' Miyagi 90+4'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,925 Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura
Note: Gameweek 32

Cerezo Osaka v Kashima Antlers

26 September 202131	Cerezo Osaka	1–2	Kashima Antlers	Osaka
15:03 JST	Okubo  35' Harakawa 58'	Report	Anzai  18' Ueda 66', 82' (pen.)	Stadium: Yanmar Stadium Nagai Attendance: 4,912 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto
Note: Gameweek 30

Kashima Antlers v Yokohama FC

2 October 202132	Kashima Antlers	1–2	Yokohama FC	Kashima
16:03 JST	Hirose  45+3' Ueda 46' Everaldo  90+3'	Report	Seko 17' 58' Germain 42' Gabriel  90' Han  90+5'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 7,208 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura
Note: Gameweek 31

FC Tokyo v Kashima Antlers

23 October 202133	FC Tokyo	1–2	Kashima Antlers	Chōfu
14:03 JST	Watanabe 75' Tsuyoshi Kodama  90' Oumari  90+2'	Report	Arthur 45+1' Ueda 65'	Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium Attendance: 9,748 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Sanfrecce Hiroshima v Kashima Antlers

3 November 202134	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	1–4	Kashima Antlers	Hiroshima
15:03 JST	Ezequiel 34' Fujii  45+2' Nogami  45+5' Sasaki  65'	Report	Arthur 3', 50' Tsunemoto 28' Sekigawa  45+5' Araki 71' (pen.)	Stadium: Edion Stadium Hiroshima Attendance: 9,626 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Kashima Antlers v Urawa Red Diamonds

7 November 202135	Kashima Antlers	1–0	Urawa Red Diamonds	Kashima
14:03 JST	Doi 36' Arthur  51' Everaldo  87'	Report	Hirano  50'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 16,518 Referee: Jumpei Iida

Kashima Antlers v Oita Trinita

20 November 202136	Kashima Antlers	0–0	Oita Trinita	Kashima
15:03 JST	Misao  52'	Report	Goya  43'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 11,035 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Kashima Antlers v Sagan Tosu

27 November 202137	Kashima Antlers	1–0	Sagan Tosu	Kashima
14:04 JST	Ueda 14' 65' Silva  72'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 12,645 Referee: Yusuke Araki

Vegalta Sendai v Kashima Antlers

4 December 202138	Vegalta Sendai	0–1	Kashima Antlers	Sendai
14:03 JST		Report	Misao  61' Pituca 73' 74' Everaldo  90+3'	Stadium: Yurtec Stadium Sendai Attendance: 8,569 Referee: Hajime Matsuo

Emperor's Cup

Main article: 2021 Emperor's Cup

After comfortably beating lower division teams in the early rounds of the tournament, Kashima were beaten comfortably 3–1 by Kawasaki Frontale in the quarter-finals, with Ryotaro Araki scoring a 90th minute consolation goal. With five goals in four games, Everaldo ended up as the top scorer in the whole tournament, in spite of Kashima not making it past the quarter-final stage.

Kashima Antlers v YSCC Yokohama

16 June 2021 Second round	Kashima Antlers	8–1	YSCC Yokohama	Kashima, Ibaraki
19:00 JST	Endo 10', 31' Everaldo Stum 12', 49' Matsumura 21' Ueda 52', 70', 78'	Report	Ogochukwu 83'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 2,458 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto

Kashima Antlers v Tochigi SC

7 July 2021 Third round	Kashima Antlers	3–0	Tochigi SC	Utsunomiya, Tochigi
19:00 JST	Everaldo Stum 80', 90' Arthur Caíke 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Kanseki Stadium Tochigi Attendance: 4,442 Referee: Jumpei Iida

Kashima Antlers v V-Varen Nagasaki

18 August 2021 Fourth round	Kashima Antlers	3–1	V-Varen Nagasaki	Isahaya, Nagasaki
19:00 JST	Arthur Caíke 50' Everaldo 60' Hayashi 74'	Report	Maikuma 7'	Stadium: Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki Attendance: 3,357 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto

Kawasaki Frontale v Kashima Antlers

27 October 2021 Quarter-finals	Kawasaki Frontale	3–1	Kashima Antlers	Kawasaki, Kanagawa
18:00 JST	Machida 32' (o.g.) Hatate 48' Wakizaka 51'	Report	Araki 90'	Stadium: Todoroki Athletics Stadium Attendance: 9,776 Referee: Nobutsugu Murakami

J.League Cup

Main article: 2021 J.League Cup

Kashima were drawn into Group A as the team that finished fifth in the league in 2020 – the four teams above them received byes from the group stage of the cup. They were unbeaten in the group stage with three wins and three draws. At the play-off stage, Kashima went onto beat Shimizu S-Pulse in both legs of the tie, but were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions Nagoya Grampus. Like the Emperor's Cup, Everaldo was the highest scorer for Kashima in this competition, scoring three goals in six appearances.

Group stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ANT	CON	AVI	SAG
1	Kashima Antlers	6	3	3	0	14	4	+10	12	Advanced to play-off stage		—	3–0	1–1	3–0
2	Consadole Sapporo	6	3	2	1	11	8	+3	11			0–0	—	1–1	2–1
3	Avispa Fukuoka	6	2	2	2	10	11	−1	8			1–5	2–3	—	4–1
4	Sagan Tosu	6	0	1	5	5	17	−12	1			2–2	1–5	0–1	—

Source: Table, Results

Kashima Antlers v Sagan Tosu

3 March 2021	Kashima Antlers	3–0	Sagan Tosu	Kashima
19:03 JST	Everaldo 10' Izumi 64' Someno 71'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 3,784 Referee: Hayato Shimizu

Avispa Fukuoka v Kashima Antlers

27 March 2021	Avispa Fukuoka	1–5	Kashima Antlers	Fukuoka
18:03 JST	Carlos 75'	Report	Ueda 9', 35' Araki 28' Everaldo 61' Hirose 90+1'	Stadium: Best Denki Stadium Attendance: 3,964 Referee: Ryo Tanimoto

Kashima Antlers v Consadole Sapporo

20 April 2021	Kashima Antlers	3–0	Consadole Sapporo	Kashima
19:03 JST	Matsumura 32' Araki 39' Shirasaki 81'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,477 Referee: Hiroyoshi Takayama

Sagan Tosu v Kashima Antlers

28 April 2021	Sagan Tosu	2–2	Kashima Antlers	Tosu
19:03 JST	Ofoedu 14' Yuzawa 73'	Report	Sugioka 29' Sagara 45+1' (o.g.)	Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Attendance: 3,402 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Kashima Antlers v Avispa Fukuoka

5 May 2021	Kashima Antlers	1–1	Avispa Fukuoka	Kashima
15:03 JST	Shirasaki 31'	Report	Mary 24'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 8,343 Referee: Futoshi Nakamura

Consadole Sapporo v Kashima Antlers

19 May 2021	Consadole Sapporo	0–0	Kashima Antlers	Sapporo
19:03 JST		Report		Stadium: Sapporo Dome Attendance: 2,829 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Play-off stage

Shimizu S-Pulse v Kashima Antlers

2 June 2021 Play-off Leg 1	Shimizu S-Pulse	0–1	Kashima Antlers	Shizuoka
19:03 JST		Report	Hayashi 8'	Stadium: IAI Stadium Nihondaira Attendance: 3,626 Referee: Futoshi Nakamura

Kashima Antlers v Shimizu S-Pulse

6 June 2021 Play-off Leg 2	Kashima Antlers	2–1	Shimizu S-Pulse	Kashima
15:03 JST	Juan Alano 45' Everaldo 71'	Report	Thiago Santana 21'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 7,274 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Kashima Antlers won 3–1 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

Nagoya Grampus v Kashima Antlers

1 September 2021 Quarter-final Leg 1	Nagoya Grampus	2–0	Kashima Antlers	Toyota
19:03 JST	Kakitani 13' Inagaki 53'	Report		Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 5,744 Referee: Nobutsugu Murakami

Kashima Antlers v Nagoya Grampus

5 September 2021 Quarter-final Leg 2	Kashima Antlers	0–2	Nagoya Grampus	Kashima
18:03 JST	Inagaki 22' Świerczok 57'	Report		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Nagoya Grampus won 4–0 on aggregate.

Statistics

Appearances

Last updated: 20 January 2022.
Source: jleague.co, Soccer D.B.

No.	Pos.	Name	J1 League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	Kwoun Sun-tae	5	0	1	0	7	0	13	0
29	GK	Tomoki Hayakawa	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
31	GK	Yuya Oki	33	0	3	0	2	0	38	0
Defenders
2	DF	Koki Anzai	12+4	0	2	0	1+1	0	20	0
14	DF	Katsuya Nagato	22+7	1	0+1	0	3+2	0	35	1
22	DF	Rikuto Hirose	7+8	0	0+1	0	6+1	1	17	1
23	DF	Naoki Hayashi	5+1	0	3	1	7+1	1	17	2
28	DF	Koki Machida	34	5	2	0	1+2	0	39	5
32	DF	Keigo Tsunemoto	25+1	2	4	0	4+3	0	37	2
33	DF	Ikuma Sekigawa	13	1	1	0	7	0	21	1
39	DF	Tomoya Inukai	23+6	5	2	0	5+1	0	37	5
Midfielders
4	MF	Léo Silva	20+9	0	1+1	0	2+2	0	35	0
6	MF	Ryota Nagaki	5+10	0	1+1	0	5+1	0	23	0
7	MF	Juan Alano	21+6	3	1+1	0	3+1	1	33	4
11	MF	Ryuji Izumi	12+11	1	1+2	0	2+1	1	29	2
17	MF	Arthur Caíke	5+9	5	2+2	2	3+1	0	22	7
20	MF	Kento Misao	29+5	0	1+1	0	4+3	0	43	0
21	MF	Diego Pituca	21+5	2	4	0	5+2	0	37	2
25	MF	Yasushi Endo	2+21	1	2+1	2	6+3	0	35	3
26	MF	Naoki Suto	0	0	0	0	0+2	0	2	0
27	MF	Yuta Matsumura	6+16	2	2+1	1	2+6	1	33	4
34	MF	Yu Funabashi	1+1	0	0	0	2+1	0	5	0
Forwards
8	FW	Shoma Doi	28+8	6	2+1	0	4+2	0	36	6
9	FW	Everaldo	17+11	1	3+1	5	4+2	3	38	9
13	FW	Ryotaro Araki	27+9	10	1+2	1	4+3	2	45	13
18	FW	Ayase Ueda	19+10	14	1+2	3	4	2	36	19
19	FW	Itsuki Someno	1+8	0	0	0	3+2	1	14	1
Players loaned or transferred out during the season
5	DF	Daiki Sugioka	5+2	1	2	0	6+1	1	16	2
15	DF	Bueno	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
37	MF	Kei Koizumi	8+9	0	1	0	3+2	0	23	0
41	MF	Ryōhei Shirasaki	11+6	2	1	0	4+1	2	23	4

Goalscorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	J1 League	Emperor's Cup	J.League Cup	Total
1	FW	18	Ayase Ueda	14	3	2	19
2	FW	13	Ryotaro Araki	10	1	2	13
3	FW	9	Everaldo	1	5	3	9
4	MF	17	Arthur Caíke	5	2	0	7
5	FW	8	Shoma Doi	6	0	0	6
6	DF	28	Koki Machida	5	0	0	5
	DF	39	Tomoya Inukai	5	0	0	5
8	MF	7	Juan Alano	3	0	1	4
	MF	27	Yuta Matsumura	2	1	1	4
	MF	41	Ryōhei Shirasaki	2	0	2	4
11	MF	25	Yasushi Endo	1	2	0	3
12	DF	5	Daiki Sugioka	1	0	1	2
	MF	11	Ryuji Izumi	1	0	1	2
	MF	21	Diego Pituca	2	0	0	2
	DF	23	Naoki Hayashi	0	1	1	2
	DF	32	Keigo Tsunemoto	2	0	0	2
17	DF	14	Katsuya Nagato	1	0	0	1
	FW	19	Itsuki Someno	0	0	1	1
	DF	22	Rikuto Hirose	0	0	1	1
	DF	33	Ikuma Sekigawa	1	0	0	1
TOTALS				62	15	16	93

Last updated: 20 January 2022.
Source: jleague.co, besoccer.com

Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.

Rnk	No.	Player	J1 League	Emperor's Cup	J. League Cup	Total
1	31	Yuya Oki	11	1	1	13
2	1	Kwoun Sun-tae	4	0	2	6
TOTALS			15	1	3	19

Last updated: 20 January 2022.
Source: fbref.com

References

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1. Match played behind closed doors