2023-08-09 12:17:00
Hinata Miyazawa had never made an impression before the World Cup. But the Japanese is now at the top of the provisional ranking of scorers and makes her country dream big.
The 23-year-old has already scored five goals in four appearances and now has Sweden in her sights for Friday’s quarter-final in Auckland.
Speed, composure and clinical efficiency: Miyazawa, who plays in the WE League – the Japanese women’s league – has shown remarkable qualities since the start of the World Cup, when she had scored only 4 goals in more than 20 appearances in the national team before.
His club performances were also far from spectacular, with just four goals in 39 appearances over two seasons for MyNavi Sendai.
The surprise Miyazawa is like the one that the Japanese national team has had in store since the start of the competition. Because the country did not expect to become a serious contender for the title this year: world champions in 2011 and finalists in 2015, the Nadeshiko had subsequently experienced several years of declining performance. Until the click of this World Cup.
Counterattack Adept
Hinata Miyazawa is often described as a midfielder, but Dan Orlowitz, sports journalist for the Japan Times, believes that Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda (in office since 2021) has found a way to score her with a tactical system in 3 -4-3, allowing his team to be formidable in counter-attack.
Miyazawa’s goals since the start of the World Cup have mostly come on occasions when she came at full speed following running from deep. ‘It’s because Japan is so well organized in defence’ that her teammates are able to place her in good conditions, explains Orlowitz.
“It’s a system that fits his abilities, and his abilities fit the system,” he added, praising the “speed, reaction time and vision” of Miyazawa’s game.
The number 7 scored twice once morest Zambia (5-0) and Spain (4-0) in the group stage. “She is a follower of the counter-attack, also notes Japanese football commentator Sergio Echigo. She’s also very calm and doesn’t panic just before she shoots.’
Born in the Kanagawa department near Yokohama, Miyazawa discovered football very young and the triumph of her elders at the 2011 World Cup inspired her a lot. She first joined Tokyo Verdy Beleza in 2018 and made her national team debut the same year, following helping Japan win the Under-20 World Cup.
The Japanese team does not have a star player at the moment, believes Sergio Echigo. But Miyazawa might just become one, with her signature thin white headband in her hair, a tribute to a heroine from the 2011 epic, Nahomi Kawasumi, according to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri. A way also to play under a lucky star.
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