Yukinari Sugawara
Japanese footballer (born 2000)
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Yukinari Sugawara (菅原 由勢, Sugawara Yukinari; born 28 June 2000) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for Serie A club Cagliari, on loan from EFL Championship club Southampton and the Japan national team.
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Sugawara playing for Japan at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Yukinari Sugawara[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 28 June 2000[2] | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Toyokawa, Aichi, Japan | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | |||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team |
Cagliari (on loan from Southampton) | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2012 | AS Laranja Toyokawa | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Nagoya Grampus | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Nagoya Grampus | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Jong AZ (loan) | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → AZ (loan) | 16 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Jong AZ | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | AZ | 119 | (10) | |||||||||||
| 2024– | Southampton | 32 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | → Werder Bremen (loan) | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2026– | → Cagliari (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| Japan U17 | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | Japan U20 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2019 | Japan U23 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2020– | Japan | 25 | (2) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:22, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16:05, 30 June 2026 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||
Sugawara began his senior career at Nagoya Grampus. In 2019, he joined AZ on loan before joining the club permanently in 2020. Sugawara moved to English club Southampton in 2024. He spent the 2025–26 season on loan at Werder Bremen. Sugawara has represented his country at youth and full international level.
Club career
Nagoya Grampus
On 23 February 2018, it was announced that Nagoya Grampus had registered Sugawara as a player.[4] Sugawara made his debut the following day, the opening day of the 2018 season, in a match against Gamba Osaka.[5] At 17 years, 7 months, and 27 days, Sugawara's starting appearance in the J1 League opening match was the second youngest record in history (the youngest being Junichi Inamoto at 17 years and 6 months).[6][7] On 6 April 2018, Sugawara signed his first professional contract with Nagoya Grampus, the youngest in the club's history to sign a professional deal, at 17 years and 10 months.[8]
Loan to AZ
Sugawara joined Eredivisie club AZ on 21 June 2019 on a season-long loan.[9] He made his first-team debut on 25 July, as a 59th-minute substitute during AZ's 0–0 home draw against BK Häcken in the second qualifying round of the Europa League.[10][11] At AZ he was mainly utilised as a right back, where he competed with the older Jonas Svensson, and was set to become his future successor.[9] On 4 August 2019, Sugawara started in the home match against Fortuna Sittard and scored the final goal in the 84th minute, to make it 4–0 after preliminary work by Calvin Stengs.[12] Both in the league and group stage of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, Sugawara was a regular rotational player during the season, while also making some appearances for the reserve team of Jong AZ in the second-tier Eerste Divisie. During this season he played 16 league games in which he scored two goals.
AZ
On 23 February 2020, it was announced that Sugawara would sign a five-year contract to join AZ permanently from 1 June 2020.[13] He was awarded by the Eredivisie in January 2022 and August 2023.
In October 2023, he became the record-holder for the highest number of European appearances for AZ, reaching his 47th game in European competitions during a match against Aston Villa.[14]
Southampton
On 14 July 2024, Sugawara signed for Premier League club Southampton on a four-year contract.[15] He became the fourth Japanese in history to sign with the club, after Tadanari Lee, Maya Yoshida and Takumi Minamino.[16] On 17 August 2024, Sugawara made his debut for the club in a 1–0 away defeat against Newcastle United.[17] He scored his first goal for the club on 31 August 2024 in a 3–1 away defeat against Brentford.[18]
Werder Bremen (loan)
On 26 August 2025, Sugawara joined Werder Bremen on a season-long loan.[19] The contract includes an option to buy Sugawara at the end of the season.[20] He made his debut for the club on 30 August in a 3–3 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.[21] On 9 May 2026, Sugawara was shown a red card for a foul on Bazoumana Touré after a VAR review by referee Sören Storks.[22]
Cagliari (loan)
On 1 September 2026, Sugawara joined Cagliari on a season-long loan.[23]
International career
Sugawara represented Japan at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[24] He made his debut with the senior Japan national team in a friendly 0–0 tie with Cameroon on 9 October 2020.[25] In March 2023, Sugawara made his first start for Japan against Uruguay. In September of the same year, he provided the assist for the first goal against Germany and was also the starting point for the second goal.
On 15 May 2026, Sugawara was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[26]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nagoya Grampus[10] | 2018 | J1 League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |
| 2019 | J1 League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| Jong AZ[10] | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Eerste Divisie | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| AZ (loan)[10] | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 11[c] | 1 | 28 | 3 | |
| AZ | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 8[e] | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 14[e] | 1 | 47 | 4 | ||
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 10[e] | 0 | 42 | 4 | ||
| Total | 119 | 10 | 9 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | 165 | 11 | |||
| Southampton | 2024–25[28] | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | |
| 2025–26[29] | Championship | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2026–27[30] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |||
| Werder Bremen (loan) | 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| Cagliari (loan) | 2026–27 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 223 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 300 | 16 | ||
- Includes Emperor's Cup, KNVB Cup, FA Cup
- Includes J.League Cup, EFL Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 29 June 2026[31]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sugawara goal.[31]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 November 2023 | Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |  Syria | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 15 November 2024 | Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia |  Indonesia | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Japan U19
- AFC U-19 Championship third place: 2018
Individual
- Eredivisie Talent of the Month: January 2022[32]
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: January 2022,[32] March 2023,[33] August 2023,[34] September 2023,[35] October 2023[36]
- Eredivisie Team of the Calendar Year: 2023[37]
- JPFA Awards Best XI: 2024[38]
Records
