Hikaru Naomoto
Japanese footballer (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hikaru Naomoto (猶本 光, Naomoto Hikaru; born March 3, 1994) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for WE League club Tokyo Verdy Beleza and the Japan women's national team.
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Naomoto with SC Freiburg in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | March 3, 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Ogori, Fukuoka, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2011 | Fukuoka J. Anclas | 26 | (0) |
| 2012–2018 | Urawa Reds | 110 | (9) |
| 2018–2020 | SC Freiburg | 23 | (0) |
| 2020–2025 | Urawa Reds | 66 | (20) |
| 2025– | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010 | Japan U-17 | 6 | (2) |
| 2012 | Japan U-20 | 6 | (2) |
| 2014– | Japan | 40 | (4) |
Medal record | |||
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16：00, 30 June 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14:19, 26 October 2023 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Naomoto was born in Ogori on March 3, 1994. In 2007, she joined her local club Fukuoka J. Anclas. After graduating from high school, she joined Urawa Reds in 2012. She was selected Best Eleven in 2014 season.On June 30, 2025, she announced her departure and transferred to Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza.
National team career
Naomoto played for the Japan U-17 team at 2010 U-17 World Cup where Japan won 2nd place and for the U-20 team at 2012 U-20 World Cup, where Japan won 3rd place.[1] On May 8, 2014, she debuted for the Japan national team against New Zealand. She was a member of Japan's 2014 Asian Cup and 2014 Asian Games squads. Japan won the championship at Asian Cup and 2nd place at Asian Games. In 2018, she played at 2018 Asian Cup and Japan won their second consecutive title. She played 18 games for Japan.
On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[2]
On July 26, she scored the opening goal in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C Round 2 match against Costa Rica and contributed to the victory, and was named VISA Player of the Match.[3][4]
Career statistics
International
- As of match played 26 October 2023[5]
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2014 | 6 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 38 | 4 | |
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Noamoto goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 January 2022 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India |  Myanmar |
3–0 | 5–0 | 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup |
| 2 | 24 June 2022 | Sport Center FAS, Stara Pazova, Serbia |  Serbia |
2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 26 July 2023 | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand |  Costa Rica |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup |
| 4 | 26 October 2023 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |  India |
7–0 | 7–0 | 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament |
Honours
Japan
Individual
- Nadeshiko League Best XI: 2014
- WE League Valuable Player Award: 2021–22, 2022–23
- WE League Best XI: 2022–23
- 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup VISA Player of the Match: against Costa Rica
