Japan aims to make 'new history' at Women's Asian Cup
TOKYO, Japan — Japan coach Nils Nielsen said his team "want to make new history" by winning next month's Women's Asian Cup as he named 16 England-based players in his squad on Thursday.
Japan is the only Asian country to have won the Women's World Cup, but it has only lifted the Asian Cup twice in 20 editions of the competition. The last time was in 2018.
Greenlander Nielsen, the first foreign-born coach of the Japan women's team, says it is time they set the record straight when the tournament kicks off in Australia on March 1.
"It is not a tournament that has been easy to win for Japan historically," said the 54-year-old, who took over in December 2024.
"We want to make new history. This is why we cannot be happy until we have the final prize because we have a team that can win it."
Manchester United's Hinata Miyazawa, the top scorer in the 2023 World Cup, was included in the 26-player squad, along with Manchester City pair Yui Hasegawa and Aoba Fujino.
Defender Saki Kumagai, who has 164 international caps, remains from the team that lifted the 2011 World Cup.
Only four players from Japan's domestic WE League made the cut.
Nielsen said a lack of injuries meant it "wasn't so hard" to make his final selection.
"What we ended up with was a little bit of everything, so we are pretty much prepared for every scenario," he said.
"We didn't pick so many players that are the same because when we replace a player on the pitch, we want to bring something different.”
Japan should sail through a first-round group that also includes Taiwan, Vietnam and India.
"I really feel that no matter what our opponents come up with, we have possible answers in our squad," said Nielsen.
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