Latest news with #Nadeshiko
News18
02-08-2025
- Sport
- News18
Japan Aim To Reclaim AFC Women's Asian Cup Title In 2026, 'Good Draw' Says Head Coach
Last Updated: Japan's coach Nils Nielsen aims to reclaim the AFC Women's Asian Cup in Australia next year. Japan is in Group C with Vietnam, India, and Chinese Taipei. Japan's head coach, Nils Nielsen, aims for his Nadeshiko team to enhance their performance in major tournaments as they strive to reclaim the AFC Women's Asian Cup title in Australia next year. Nielsen's squad has been placed in Group C alongside Vietnam, India, and Chinese Taipei for the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026. The Official Draw in Sydney on Tuesday set the stage for their quest to win the title for the first time since 2018. 'It was a good draw, and the most important aspect is being in Group C as it's logistically better than Group B. We need to prove why we're the highest-ranked team. I don't want to disrespect anyone, but I believe we have a good chance to win the group, which would set us up against one of the third-place teams in the quarterfinals," said the Danish coach, who succeeded Futoshi Ikeda last year. Japan will play all three group-stage matches in Perth, beginning against Chinese Taipei on March 4. They aim to top the standings to secure a quarter-final match with one of the third-place finishers, as per AFC rules. Winning there would qualify Japan for their 10th consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup, guaranteeing one of the six berths for the finals in Brazil and keeping their hopes alive for reclaiming the world title for the first time since 2011. 'Obviously, it's a World Cup qualifier, so the Women's Asian Cup holds immense importance. But as a team, we need to return to winning ways, not just in individual matches but also in tournaments. Each tournament has its unique dynamics, so it's vital to understand and prepare for that. We haven't fully addressed these details yet, having only played friendly matches so far. 'But we have ample time to prepare, with more good matches on the horizon. I'm particularly pleased with the efforts of the administrators, as they have provided us with excellent preparation," said Nielsen. The AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 will be Nielsen's first major tournament as the Nadeshiko's head coach since he took over after the 2024 Olympic Games, where Japan was defeated in the quarter-finals by the eventual gold medallists, the United States. Currently ranked seventh by FIFA, the Dane expressed satisfaction with his squad's development since his arrival in December. However, he emphasizes that the time for assessments and adjustments is over. 'We've faced very strong teams, which is invaluable preparation for major tournaments. It's crucial to have formidable opposition in all our games," he said regarding the team's schedule so far. view comments First Published: August 02, 2025, 14:39 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brighton & Hove Albion sign Japanese international defender Minami
Brighton & Hove Albion have completed the signing of experienced Japanese international defender Moeka Minami. WSL Full-Time were informed of the news via an official club press release from The Seagulls this morning. Advertisement The 26-year-old joins Brighton & Hove Albion off the back of a three-year spell with Italian Serie A Femminile eBay club AS Roma. Minami won two league titles, two Supercoppa Italianas and the Coppa Italia with The Yellow and Reds. Minami has a wealth of experience at international level. She has been capped by Japan on 61 occasions and has scored five goals for her country. She has featured for Nadeshiko at the FIFA Women's World Cups in 2019 and 2023 along with the latest Olympic Games. After adding Minami to his squad, Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Dario Vidošić said 'It's great to welcome Moeka to the club. She has got vast experience both for her country and in Europe with Roma and she will be an exciting addition to our squad. 'We are looking forward to helping her settle into a new environment and to working with her ahead of the new season.' Minami is Brighton & Hove Albion's first signing of the summer transfer window. The Seagulls are expected to add several new faces to their squad this summer.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Copa America 2025: All you need to know
Copa America 2025: All you need to know There's now only a month until CONMEBAL Copa America Femenina 2025 gets under way! Starting on 12 July, 10 national teams from across South America will compete in Ecuador for the prestigious honour and there could be a City-centric feel to this year's tournament. Advertisement Brazil enter the competition as reigning champions following their triumph in 2022 and here's all the information needed ahead of Copa America 2025. WHEN ARE THE GAMES? The tournament begins with Peru playing Chile at 22:00 (UK) on Saturday 12 July at Estadio Banco Guayaquil, Quito before hosts Ecuador face Uruguay at the same stadium three hours later. Brazil's meeting with Colombia and Paraguay against Venezuela, both 01:00 (UK) kick-offs, on 26 July represent the last group stage games before the semi-finals take place across 28 and 29 July. The final will then take place at 22:00 (UK) on Saturday 2 August at Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito. WHO COULD BE PLAYING? Although her place in the Copa America 2025 squad isn't guaranteed, City's Kerolin was included in Brazil's latest squad for back-to-back friendlies with Japan. Advertisement The skilful forward scored in a 3-1 win for her nation over Nadeshiko at Corinthians Arena on 31 May before helping them to a 2-1 win in the second meeting. SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT If Kerolin is included in Brazil's squad for the upcoming competition, we will publish all the relevant information on and our official app. WATCH: In conversation with Kerolin Nicoli | Official Man City Podcast MAN CITY APP COVERGAE and our official app will provide comprehensive coverage of the tournament throughout Copa America 2025. During the competition, City-centric match reports will be produced after each game including Club representatives before reaction from our players will follow throughout. DOWNLOAD THE MAN CITY APP After each stage of the championships, a written review will be published alongside photo galleries and previews of the next phase of the tournament.
Japan Times
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
How Mina Tanaka evolved into a prolific striker for Nadeshiko Japan
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.
Daily Tribune
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
Japan Eyes 2039 Women's World Cup After FIFA's Regional Shift
Bid Plans Adjust to FIFA's Timeline Japan Football Association president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto has confirmed the country will now target hosting the 2039 Women's World Cup, following FIFA's decision to exclude Asian nations from bidding for the 2031 and 2035 tournaments. Last week, FIFA outlined its hosting strategy, opening the 2031 edition to African and Concacaf federations—covering North and Central America and the Caribbean—while restricting 2035 to Africa and Europe. For Japan, a nation with its sights set on 2031, this means a longer wait. Miyamoto didn't hide his frustration, calling it 'extremely disappointing,' but quickly pivoted to the future, signaling Japan's resolve to stay in the race. Undeterred Ambition for Women's Football Despite the setback, Miyamoto made it clear Japan's commitment to growing women's football remains unshaken. 'We're not stepping back from our goals—more women playing, stronger competition, a better game,' he said in a statement that carried a quiet defiance. Japan's credentials are hard to ignore. The Nadeshiko, as the women's national team is known, lifted the World Cup in 2011, edging Germany in a penalty shootout, and reached the final again in 2015, only falling to the USA. At youth level, they've been relentless, making the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup final in the last three editions. Miyamoto sees this as a foundation to build on, not a peak to rest at. A Legacy Waiting to Host Japan's football history adds weight to its aspirations. The country co-hosted the 2002 men's World Cup with South Korea, a logistical triumph that saw packed stadiums and smooth operations across two nations. Yet the Women's World Cup has eluded them. Now, with 2039 as the earliest shot, the focus is on sustaining momentum. 'We're on the right path,' Miyamoto insisted, pointing to packed domestic leagues and rising participation. He's got his eye on more than just hosting—Japan wants its teams, from seniors to juniors, to be in the conversation for world's best, backed by facilities and support that match the ambition. Global Rotation Shapes the Wait FIFA's regional rotation means Brazil will stage the next Women's World Cup in 2027, their first go at it after a standout men's tournament in 2014. Then it's Africa or Concacaf in 2031, and Africa or Europe in 2035, leaving Asia on hold. For Japan, the delay stings but isn't fatal. Fans still talk about 2011—the night in Frankfurt when Ayumi Kaihori's saves sealed the title—and the buzz around the Nadeshiko's recent youth success keeps the fire alive. Miyamoto's plan is steady: keep pushing the sport forward, so when 2039 rolls around, Japan's not just ready to host—they're ready to dominate.
