Fūka Nagano
Japanese footballer (born 1999)
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Fūka Nagano (長野 風花, Nagano Fūka; IPA: [naꜜɡano ɸɯːka]; born 9 March 1999) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Liverpool and the Japan national team.
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Nagano in 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 9 March 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Liverpool | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Urawa Reds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Urawa Reds | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Hyundai Steel Red Angels | 21 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Chifure AS Elfen Saitama | 34 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Mynavi Sendai | 20 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | North Carolina Courage | 11 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Liverpool | 70 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Japan U17 | 31 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Japan U20 | 20 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018– | Japan | 60 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 07:08, 29 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 07:32, 20 April 2026 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nagano begun her senior career with Urawa Reds in 2014. She joined WK league club Hyundai Steel Red Angels in 2018.[1] She then returned to Japan and played for the Division 2 side Chifure AS Elfen Saitama before joining Mynavi Sendai for the inaugural WE League season.[2] In 2022, she went overseas to join NWSL club North Carolina Courage during the midseason.[3] At the end of the season, she left the club to join Liverpool in the Women's Super League.[4]
Nagano has represented Japan at every youth level and has won both the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup with her country. In 2017, she was named Asian Young Footballer of the Year at the AFC Annual Awards.[5] In 2018, she made her senior international debut for Japan in a friendly match. She has since represented Japan in the FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2024 Paris Olympics, AFC Women's Asian Cup, and the EAFF E-1 Football Championship.
Club career
Urawa Reds
In 2014, Nagano played for Urawa Reds in Japan's top-division Nadeshiko League and helped the team win a league championship.[6][7][8]
Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels
On 18 March 2018, Nagano signed a one-year contract with Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels.[1] On 23 April, she made her debut in a 0–0 draw with Gyeongju KHNP.[9] On 1 June, she scored her first goal in a 7–1 home victory against Changnyeong.[10] She won the WK league in her lone season with the team.
Chifure AS Elfen Saitama
In January 2019, Nagano left South Korea and returned to her native Japan to play for Division 2 club Chifure AS Elfen Saitama. She stated that her motivation to join was because of her great respect for the coach of the team, Hiroshi Yoshida.
Mynavi Sendai
In January 2021, Nagano joined Mynavi Sendai.[2]
North Carolina Courage
In July 2022, Nagano confirmed she would be joining the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL.[3] She scored her first goal for the Courage on 20 August in a 4–0 victory over Chicago Red Stars.[11]
Liverpool
In January 2023, Nagano joined Women's Super League side Liverpool.[4] She was due to complete her debut on 22 January 2023 in a league match against Chelsea before the match was abandoned after 6 minutes of play.[12] She made her official competitive debut in a 1–0 loss against West Ham United in the FA WSL Cup quarterfinals on 25 January 2023.[13] She quickly established herself as a key part of the team as she started in all of Liverpool's remaining matches in the 2022–23 season.
Nagano continued to be an integral part of the Liverpool line-up in the Women's Super League during the 2023–24 season as she started in 21 of 22 matches in the league.[14] She helped Liverpool finished 4th in the league, their highest position in the league since their league triumph in 2014.[15]
Nagano scored her first goal for Liverpool on 14 March 2025, with the second goal in a 3–1 win over Manchester United at Anfield.[16]
On 1 August 2025, the club confirmed that Nagano had signed a new contract, extending her stay at Liverpool.[17]
International career
Youth
In 2016, Nagano competed at the All Japan Youth (U-15) Women's Championship.[18] She was part of the under-16 team that won the 2013 AFC U-16 Women's Championship in China and of the under-17 team that won the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica.[19] She captained Japan to the final of the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Jordan,[20][21] where they were defeated by North Korea on penalty kicks,[22] and won the Golden Ball award as the tournament's top scorer.[23][24]
In June 2018, Nagano was called up to the senior team for the first time for a friendly match against New Zealand.[25]
In August 2018, Nagano was part of Japan's victorious team in the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in France, turning in a player of the match performance in the semi-final, and scoring a goal in the final in a 3–1 win over Spain.
Senior
On 11 November 2018, Nagano debuted for senior team against Norway.[26] She established herself as a regular in the Japan national team in 2022, and she was part of the team that won the EAFF E-1 Football Championship in Japan.[27]
On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[28]She played a pivotal role in Japan's performance in the tournament. She started in all but one game as they finished top of their group and reached the quarterfinals in the world cup.
On 14 June 2024, Nagano was included in the Japan squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[29]
Nagano was part of the Japan squad that won the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.[30] She was called up to the national team for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup. She started in four matches for Japan as she helped the team to their third continental title, winning all matches in the process.[31]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 5 April 2026[32]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Urawa Reds | 2014 | Nadeshiko League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Nadeshiko League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | Nadeshiko League | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Nadeshiko League | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 39 | 1 | ||
| Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels | 2018 | WK League | 21 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||
| Chifure AS Elfen Saitama | 2019 | Nadeshiko League Div. 2 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| 2020 | Nadeshiko League Div. 2 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Total | 34 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 48 | 2 | ||
| MyNavi Sendai | 2021-22 | WE League | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |
| North Carolina Courage | 2022 | NWSL | 11 | 2 | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||
| Liverpool | 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | Women's Super League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 87 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 179 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 228 | 7 | ||
- Includes the Empress's Cup, Women's FA Cup
- Includes the Nadeshiko League Cup, FA Women's League Cup
International
- As of match played 18 April 2026[33]
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 60 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nagano goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 July 2022 | Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima, Japan |  South Korea |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship |
Honours
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- Nadeshiko League: 2014
- Empress's Cup runner-up: 2014
- Nadeshiko League Cup runner-up: 2017
Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels
Japan U17
Japan U20
Japan
Individual
- FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Golden Ball: 2016[35]
- Asian Young Footballer of the Year: 2016[36]
