TOKYO (Kyodo) — Longtime captain Saki Kumagai and star playmaker Yui Hasegawa were named Friday among the 18 members of the Japanese women’s football squad aiming to return to the podium at the Paris Olympics kicking off next month.
Head coach Futoshi Ikeda’s team will bid for Japan’s first Olympic football medal since taking women’s silver at the 2012 London Games.
Roma’s Kumagai and Manchester City’s Hasegawa are joined by several other mainstays of the Nadeshiko Japan outfit who reached the 2023 Women’s World Cup quarterfinals in New Zealand and Australia.
They include the tournament’s top goal scorer, Manchester United midfielder Hinata Miyazawa, as well as veteran striker Mina Tanaka of domestic powerhouse INAC Kobe Leonessa.
Nadeshiko Japan will depart for Paris after a final warmup against Ghana at Kanazawa Go Go Curry Stadium on July 13. They will open their Olympic campaign against World Cup winners Spain before facing Brazil and Nigeria in a tough Group C.
Japan squad:
Goalkeepers: Ayaka Yamashita (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Chika Hirao (Albirex Niigata)
Defenders: Saki Kumagai, Moeka Minami (Roma), Risa Shimizu (West Ham), Hikaru Kitagawa (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Hana Takahashi (Urawa Reds), Toko Koga (Feyenoord)
Midfielders: Kiko Seike (Urawa Reds), Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City), Honoka Hayashi (West Ham), Fuka Nagano (Liverpool), Hinata Miyazawa (Manchester United), Aoba Fujino (Tokyo Verdy Beleza), Momoko Tanikawa (Rosengard)
Forwards: Mina Tanaka (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Riko Ueki (West Ham), Maika Hamano (Chelsea)