Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tokyo: Japan’s Saki Kumagai has lived out the sort of moments that belong only in the wildest dreams of most footballers.
In 2011, as a 20-year-old, she scored the winning spot-kick when the Nadeshiko beat the United States on penalties in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, before moving to Germany, then France, where she has won 10 major trophies with Olympique Lyonnais.
That haul of silverware includes UEFA Women’s Champions League titles in the last two seasons, with Kumagai, again scoring the decisive penalty in a shootout to complete a historic personal double in the 2016 win.
Now 27, and considered one of the world’s elite players in defence or midfield, Kumagai has won nearly all there is to win in the game, but there is one trophy that has eluded her - the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Japan became champions for the first time four years ago, but Kumagai played no part in the tournament, as club duty kept her in France while her Japanese teammates overcame Australia in the final in Ho Chi Minh City.