is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or defender for Women's Super League club West Ham United and the Japan national team.Japan Football Association A versatile defensive midfielder with keen sense of anticipation and exceptional tactical acumen, she is also able to be deployed as a central defender. She is regarded as one of the finest Asian female midfielders of all time. She is one of the most successful East Asian footballers, of any gender, at club and international level.
Kumagai was born in Sapporo on 17 October 1990 and had ambitions to become a professional footballer from elementary school. Kumagai began her senior career in her native Japan with Urawa Reds in 2009. She would then move to Europe in 2011, joining Frauen-Bundesliga side FFC Frankfurt. She joined Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2013. Kumagai made over 240 appearances for the club, winning 19 titles trophies, including seven Division 1 Féminine titles, six Coupe de France titles, and five UEFA Women's Champions League titles. She was part of the squad that won 4 continental treble of Division 1 Féminine, Coupe de France, and UEFA Women's Champions League in 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, and 2019–20. She left Lyon to join Bayern Munich in 2021. She won the league title with Bayern Munich in 2022–23 season before joining Serie A side AS Roma in the summer of 2023.
Kumagai has made over 100 caps for Japan women's national team and currently ranked as the 3rd most capped female player for the country. She made her senior international debut for Japan in 2008 at the age of 17. She had represented Japan in four World Cup tournaments, winning the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup where she scored the decisive penalty in the penalty shootout. She had further won an Asian Games gold medal and the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2026. She was named captain of the national team in January 2017.
Club career Urawa Reds After graduating from high school, she joined for Urawa Reds in 2009. The club won L.League championship in 2009 season.
Frankfurt In July 2011, she moved to German Bundesliga club Frankfurt where she played for 2 seasons.
Lyon Kumagai moved to French Division 1 Féminine club Lyon in June 2013, where she scored the decisive penalty for Lyon in the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final, following a player-of-the-match performance.
In April 2021, Kumagai announced that she would be leaving Lyon after 8 seasons.
Bayern Munich On 12 May 2021, Kumagai would return to the Frauen Bundesliga when FC Bayern Munich announced her as their first signing of the season.
Roma On 5 June 2023, it was announced that Kumagai had joined Serie A side AS Roma on a three-year deal.
London City Lionesses On 23 January 2025, it was announced that Kumagai had signed for London City Lionesses.
West Ham United On 4 September 2026, it was announced that Kumagai had signed for West Ham United.
International career On 7 March 2008, when Kumagai was 17 years old, she debuted for the Japan national team against Canada.Japan Football Association In August, Kumagai was selected for the Japan U-20 national team at the 2008 U-20 World Cup. In 2010, she played for the U-20 team as captain during the 2010 U-20 World Cup. In 2011, she was part of Japan's World Cup-winning team, scoring the winning penalty in the final against the United States. She was also in the squad at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2015 World Cup. Japan came second at both competitions. In January 2017, she was named Japan's captain by manager Asako Takakura. In 2018, Japan won the 2018 Asian Cup. She has played more than 100 games for Japan. On 10 November 2019, Kumagai scored her first ever goal in a friendly match for Japan in a 2–0 win against South Africa.
On 18 June 2021, she was included in the Japan squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
On 7 January 2022, Kumagai was called up to the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup squad.
On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
On 14 June 2024, Kumagai was included in the Japan squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Kumagai was part of the Japan squad that won the 2025 SheBelieves Cup and the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsUrawa Reds2009Nadeshiko League2124100——2532010Nadeshiko League1864220——2482011Nadeshiko League500000——50Total448832000005411FFC Frankfurt2011–12Frauen-Bundesliga20230—80—3122012–13Frauen-Bundesliga18010———190Total38240008000502Lyon2013–14D1 Féminine19353—41—2872014–15D1 Féminine22260—40—3222015–16D1 Féminine20551—91—3472016–17D1 Féminine19622—93—30112017–18D1 Féminine21540—71—3262018–19D1 Féminine20250—90—3422019–20D1 Féminine14260—61102732020–21D1 Féminine17410—61—245Total15229346005481024143FC Bayern Munich2021–22Frauen-Bundesliga21541—82—3382022–23Frauen-Bundesliga18432—90—306Total3997300172006314A.S. Roma2023–24Serie A25550—80103952024–25Serie A12011—8110222Total375730017220617London City Lionesses2024–25Women's Championship9010———1002025–26Women's Super League1922000——212Total28230000000312West Ham United2026–27Women's Super League300000——30Career total3415363132087113050379
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational TeamYearAppsGoalsJapan200820200900201015020111602012160201390201450201511020167020179020181002019101202020202180202211120231602024101202570202691Total1734
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kumagai goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Saki KumagaiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1Kitakyushu Stadium, Kitakyushu, Japan1–02–0Friendly2Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India2–03–02022 AFC Women's Asian Cup3Parc des Princes, Paris, France1–12–12024 Summer Olympics4Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia3–04–12026 AFC Women's Asian Cup
Honours
Urawa Reds Nadeshiko League: 2009
Lyon Première Ligue: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 Coupe de France: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 Trophée des Championnes: 2019
Bayern Munich Frauen-Bundesliga: 2022–23
AS Roma Serie A Femminile: 2023–24 Coppa Italia (women): 2023–24 Supercoppa Italiana (women): 2024 London City Lionesses Championship: 2024–25
Japan FIFA Women's World Cup - Winner: 2011, Runner-up: 2015 Summer Olympics Silver Medal: 2012 AFC Women's Asian Cup - Winner: 2018, 2026 Asian Games - Winner: 2010 East Asian Football Championship - Winner: 2010 SheBelieves Cup - Winner: 2025 Japan U20
AFC U-19 Women's Championship: 2009
Individual Asian Women's Footballer of the Year: 2019 IFFHS Women's World Team: 2018, 2020 IFFHS World's Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020 IFFHS AFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020 Women's Golden Foot: 2024
See also List of women's footballers with 100 or more caps
References
External links
Japan Football Association