How Mina Tanaka evolved into a prolific striker for Nadeshiko Japan

Japan Times

20-03-2025

All the great teams have them: Tenacious goal scorers that come up big in important moments, boasting prowess and profile in equal measure.
But it's not just about the iconic goals and eye-catching trickery — just as crucial to the acclaim of such players is a commonly shared backstory of ambition and perseverance fueled by a burning desire to succeed at the very highest level.
Nadeshiko Japan and Utah Royals striker Mina Tanaka amply fits this categorization. The 30-year-old has always been a player of high-renown within the Japanese women's soccer sphere, but it is her team's recent triumph at the SheBelieves Cup in February that has elevated her global status to new heights.
Japan won all three of its matches at the U.S.-hosted invitational competition, emerging victorious after a 2-1 win over the American team in San Diego. Tanaka scooped both the top scorer and MVP awards for herself in what can only be described as a stellar performance in the tournament. She now finds herself back in the mountainous surroundings of Salt Lake City as she eyes success with her NWSL club.
'It was amazing to win a competition here in America for the first time,' she said in a recent interview. 'I was delighted to have played a part in our success.'
Newly appointed Nadeshiko head coach Nils Nielsen patrolled the sidelines for the first time since he was named to the role in December. He has seemingly revitalized the Nadeshiko's resolve and Tanaka finds herself front and center of his attacking ranks. Evidently, this decision has paid dividends, with Tanaka scoring four goals and assisting on two others across the three games in the U.S. last month.
Now an established figure in Japanese women's soccer, Tanaka is well positioned to offer sound insight into the current state of play from a broader perspective given her overseas experience. |
Utah Royals
'The new coach is really kind," she says. "He challenges us to 'be brave' and not be afraid of making mistakes. He has instilled this mindset in all of us. With the strong performances we produced at SheBelieves, morale is really high right now.
'As for the way we play, the formation itself hasn't changed that much and it's still early days so there haven't been too many tactical adjustments either. But we are moving the ball around a lot more and trying to increase the number of passes. We are also defending more in transition and we now aim to play with the ball in front of us as much as possible.'
Going right back to the beginning, Tanaka's introduction to the game follows a similar tale to many well-known Nadeshiko talents, with the major influences found close to home.
'It was my older brother who got me interested in soccer when I was 5 years old,' she recalls. 'I started out at a local club before joining the Tokyo Verdy Menina academy when in junior high school.'
Menina is an elite women's soccer academy with a highly selective acceptance rate. Its track record in producing high-caliber soccer talent speaks for itself, with many recognizable names among the alumni.
'From my intake only five were selected from 100 trialists. The likes of Yui Hasegawa, Yuka Momiki and Narumi Miura were coming through the ranks at the same time as myself. Actually quite a lot of the current national team members came up through Menina.'
And this talent factory is where Tanaka found her natural position as a center-forward.
'Before Menina, I played as a defensive midfielder, primarily focusing on passing and creating chances. When I joined, I started playing up front and from there I knew this was the position for me.'
Tanaka (11) celebrates her second goal of the first half alongside her teammates in a a SheBelieves Cup match against Australia in Houston on Feb. 20. |
Imagn Images / via Reuters
Menina is the affiliated academy of Tokyo Verdy Beleza, Japan's most successful women's soccer team. Making her senior debut at age 17, Tanaka spent a further eight years with the capital city club. Her tenure yielded much success as she helped her side win five league titles, four Empress's Cups and four league cups while claiming four consecutive league top scorer awards for herself.
But despite the accolades, adversity reared its head in 2019 when she was left off Nadeshiko's Women's World Cup squad. By then, Tanaka had established herself as a national team regular, so the snub came as a shock.
'I wasn't called up in 2019 so I felt I had to change something. For this reason I decided to move to INAC Kobe. At Beleza I had been playing in the same system alongside the same players for a very long time. I wanted to see what I could do in a new team with new surroundings.'
They say disappointment is the best teacher and this certainly seems to be the case here. Similar levels of success came as she added a further league and Empress's Cup winners medal to her collection. The move also put her back on the national team radar and she was selected for both the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2023 Women's World Cup.
After three seasons at INAC Kobe, Tanaka made the tough decision to depart Japanese shores and develop her attributes overseas with the Utah Royals. |
Imagn Images / via Reuters
After three seasons at INAC, Tanaka made the tough decision to depart Japanese shores and develop her attributes overseas. In August 2024, Tanaka joined the Utah Royals of the NWSL as a new chapter and a new challenge began.
'Soccer is played a lot faster here. The physicality and pace are a lot more intense and I feel the benefits of playing in this environment when I play for Japan. But of course I also have to think about how I can adapt and utilize my own attributes to suit the nature of this league and how all of that fits within the team. So far this has been a really exciting and enjoyable experience.'
The center-forward position has evolved considerably in recent years. The requirement to contribute to the creation of goals, with incisive passing and by dragging defenders out of position, is now considered just as important as scoring them. Tanaka's sustained determination to diversify and evolve her own game seems to have run in tandem with this tactical development.
'With Utah I play as the center-forward a lot but sometimes I drop deeper, getting involved with buildup play and feeding passes to some of the other attackers.'
Now an established figure in Japanese women's soccer, Tanaka is well positioned to offer sound insight into the current state of play from a broader perspective.
Back in Japan the domestic league attendance record was recently shattered as over 20,000 watched Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina host Urawa Reds Ladies in the WE League. It was an encouraging development that should be embraced with a hint of caution.
'I think for the league as a whole the yearly attendance numbers are pretty low and it seems difficult to attract spectators,' Tanaka says. 'Despite that, Hiroshima's project 10,000 managed to achieve its target twofold and I understand the merchandise also sold well, all very promising.'
Project 10,000 was the name given to Regina's ambitious, long-standing initiative to set an all-time-high club attendance record by enticing as many fans as possible to its home game against Urawa.
'Hopefully this paves the way for higher attendances across the board and this match isn't just an outlier,' she adds.
'Compared to America, there's quite a difference in the amounts players earn in Japan, with Japan having a long way to go in that respect."
While the domestic Japanese professional game is still a work in progress, there has been a major development on the international stage for women's club soccer. The inaugural FIFA Women's Club World Cup to be held in 2028 was announced at the governing body's first congress of 2025. The ground-breaking competition promises much in terms of commercial potential and is widely regarded as a significant stride forward for women's soccer.
'I think it's really exciting,' she says. 'If you're playing in Europe for a Champions League team it's probably a tight schedule, but in general I think it will generate more interest and hype around women's soccer. Of course it will be important to let players rest when they need to but I think the increase in the number of games is a good thing because, after all, we enjoy playing.'
Central to Tanaka's story is the virtue of embracing the unfamiliar as a means of achieving sustained progress. Perhaps this rings just as true for the game at large as it does for the individual.