2024 SheBelieves Cup: Scouting Japan

The United States Women’s National Team once again hosts the SheBelieves Cup, looking to claim the title for the seventh time in nine attempts. Unlike past editions of the competition, the 2024 tournament is a mere two fixtures per team instead of a round-robin group. Japan is the first opponent, with the winner of Canada and Brazil awaiting in the final or third-place match. Mercedes-Benz Stadium – a 73,019-seat arena in Atlanta, Georgia with an artificial FieldTurf CORE surface that was replaced in 2022 – hosts the semifinal round.

This is the 40^th all-time meeting between the two nations, with the USWNT holding a 30-1-8 advantage, most recently winning (1-0) at last year’s SheBelieves Cup. Ranked seventh internationally by FIFA, Japan was bounced by Sweden (1-2) in the quarterfinal round of last summer’s World Cup. After finishing atop Group C in the second round of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, なでしこジャパン (Nadeshiko Japan) qualified for the Paris Games by defeating North Korea in a two-leg aggregate series (0-0, 2-1).

The Japan Football Federation appointed Futoshi Ikeda to the manager role in October of 2021 — a brief professional playing career was followed by coaching experience at the academy and youth international levels, claiming the 2018 U-20 World Cup. Despite the quarterfinal exit in last summer’s World Cup, his squad “earned glowing praise for the style and class displayed.” The 53-year-old from Koganei believes that “victory resides in the details” and noted that his squad has struggled with the physicality of opponents, needing to improve “in terms of [the] ability to compete for the ball and break out of situations.”

Ikeda named a 22-player roster for the SheBelieves Cup, a mostly full-strength group absent a few regular contributors. The domestic Japan Women’s Empowerment Professional Football League is home to 10 of the call-ups, while 11 are on the books at European clubs and a single talent competes in the National Women’s Soccer League. Notable performers Jun Endo and Hana Takahashi are out of the squad.

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GOALKEEPERS (3): Ayaka Yamashita (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Chika Hirao (Albirex Niigata), Momoko Tanaka (Tokyo Verdy Beleza)

DEFENDERS (7): Saki Kumagai (Roma), Risa Shimizu (West Ham United), Miyabi Moriya (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Hikaru Kitagawa (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Moeka Minami (Roma), Rion Ishikawa (Urawa Reds), Tōko Koga (Feyenoord)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City), Hina Sugita (Portland Thorns), Honoka Hayashi (West Ham United), Fuka Nagano (Liverpool), Hinata Miyazawa (Manchester United), Momoko Tanikawa (Rosengård)

FORWARDS (6): Mina Tanaka (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Kiko Seike (Urawa Reds), Mami Ueno (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina), Riko Ueki (West Ham United), Aoba Fujino (Tokyo Verde Beleza), Maika Hamano (Chelsea)

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Utilizing 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 formations, Ikeda has imbued the squad with tactics that prioritize “agility, mobility, and unity,” a free-playing style that emboldens the individuality of the players and focuses on the overall “Play Model.” He attempts to build on the Japanese tradition, described as “technique, a lot of interaction between each other, an attacking [unit] that makes use of combinations with agility and endurance, and to play for 90 minutes.” However, his strategy is malleable, notably moving from high possession to a rigid set-up that “prevents any gaps from opening up” and relies on “quick counter-attacks,” securing a 4-0 win over eventual champions Spain at the World Cup. The versatile, multi-layered attack can overwhelm opponents with tight combinations or vertical passes that drive toward the wings and get behind the back line.

The highly decorated Ayaka Yamashita continues to hold down the number-one spot for the national team. The 28-year-old INAC Kobe Leonessa goalkeeper has earned a bevy of individual awards, including WE League Best XI in 2022 and 2023 and Most Valuable Player in 2022. She is praised for having “superb ball control and assuredness when playing out of the back” as well as “possessing an outstanding ability to block shots” due to a high level of athleticism. Springy and energetic, her skill-set is an even match between confident box controlling and composed shot stopping.

Left-footed centre-back Moeka Minami opens up the field and speedily cuts down charging wingers. The 25-year-old from Yoshikawa is an effective ball-winner on the ground and in the air, also serving as a key point of distribution. The 2019 Asian Women’s Footballer of the Year, Saki Kumagai, remains a key figure for Japan, controlling possession and splitting the opponent with devastating passes. Lining up in a hybrid regista-esque drop-back role, she is praised as “an expert in deciding when to step up aggressively, when to fall back, and how to direct her team-mates in stressful situations.” The trio should be completed by Rion Ishikawa, a 5’8” defender with Urawa Reds who earned WE League Best XI honors in 2023 and was included on the World Cup roster. The Guardian praises her as “fast, powerful, and tough one-on-one [presence] and tackler” in the midst of a rapid development process to improve “fitness and technique.”

Versatile Portland Thorn Hina Sugita can line up almost anywhere in the formation, acting as a “significant offensive force” with the “ability to dribble, combine, and play gorgeous passes.” While “not the quickest,” she has a high level of “awareness and anticipation” that enables her to read the game and come out on top in one-on-one duels. Risa Shimizu joined West Ham in August of 2022, describing herself as “very athletic” and preferring to make “plenty of overlapping runs” while “providing some extra flair.” The “hardworking” defender boasts an “aggressive style” when playing vertically out of possession and intercepts multiple passes per match, “pressing high when given the opportunity.” There’s also the potential for starlet Tōko Koga, a recent Feyenoord signing, to factor into proceedings, having started in the first leg of the crucial series against North Korea. Observers praise her “fighting spirit, dueling power, running ability, and technique,” with a physical style and the versatility to also occupy a central role.

Occupying the engine room is Fūka Nagano of Liverpool, a positionally-disciplined ball-winner who advances possession and plays a steady tempo. The 25-year-old boasts a “precise reading of the flow of the game,” serving as an essential link-up option when opting to delay progression or launch passes. Manchester City’s Yui Hasegawa is a creative force, covering the width of the field and dancing her way around opponents to “spark fast counter-attacks to create chances.” She is a prolific distributor and link-up option while also driving forward as a dribbler and recovering the ball in dangerous areas.

Riko Ueki joined West Ham after previously spending her entire career in the domestic league, starring in last summer’s 4-0 win over Spain and impressing with the “timing of her movement and understanding of the game.” The versatile front-liner is a dangerous target on crosses and puts in tireless work to force turnovers. At a mere 20 years of age, Aoba Fujino is considered the great hope for the program after registering crucial goals at the World Cup and during Olympic qualifying. The Tokyo Verdy attacker is a strong dribbler with above-average pace, providing a strong creative input from the wing as she slices and dices through defenders with intelligent touches. According to Ikeda, World Cup Golden Boot winner Hinata Miyazawa is “fit to play,” having healed from fracturing her ankle in December, but Manchester United manager Marc Skinner deemed her status as “not 90 minutes ready.” The “quick” forward has an accelerated “speed of thought” and advanced “sense of timing” that enable her to manipulate through and past the opponents’ lines, to say nothing of the composed finishing at last summer’s competition.

Expected to lead the formation is Mina Tanaka, who scored seven international goals in 2023, including two at the World Cup. The 29-year-old Thailand-born striker competes in the domestic league with INAC Kobe Leonessa and can “unleash powerful shots with either foot, break behind defensive lines, and is physically strong enough to hold up play.” She is elusive with the ball, with the speed and guile to overcome defenders, boasting “a wide variety of shots.” Her best work is done within close range of the net, running onto passes, redirecting crosses, or pouncing on loose balls, but chance creation for herself and others is also frequent.

While Japan lasted a single round longer than the USWNT (both falling to Sweden), the former impressed viewers and came out of the World Cup with a sense of optimism surrounding the program. The visiting side has a smart, compact playing style that can defeat the opponent in a variety of ways, led by an experienced group and an intelligent manager. While the hosts should be favored, the younger squad is running up against a firm challenger providing an important test ahead of the Olympic Games.

The match is scheduled for Saturday, April 6^th at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, 9:30 a.m. Pacific. Viewing options include TNT, Universo, Max, Peacock, Telemundo, and FUBO TV (free trial).