Former Barcelona wunderkind Takefusa Kubo made his top-team debut for FC Tokyo in a 1-0 win over Consadole Sapporo in the Levain Cup on Wednesday, becoming the second-youngest player to appear in J. League's first division competition.
At 15 years, 10 months and 30 days, Kubo is behind only former Japan forward Takayuki Morimoto, who debuted at 15 years, 10 months and six days back in 2004. Across the three divisions in the J. League, Kubo debuted for Tokyo's under-23s in J3 in November at a record 15 years, five months and one day.
While Tokyo claimed an important three points in its league cup campaign — improving to third in Group A, three points off the pace of Vegalta Sendai with a game in hand — the result was a sideshow to one of the most highly anticipated debuts the league has seen.