Chiba: As the last remaining player to have experienced Japan’s 2011 triumph, Saki Kumagai is set to shoulder her country once again in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023 – but with plenty at stake.There’s a lot riding on the shoulders of the Nadeshiko captain, from having to carry her team at the fast-approaching Women’s World Cup to passing on the 2011 championship DNA to the next generation of Nadeshikos and to playing for her long-time friend Mana Iwabuchi, who did not make the cut for Australia-New Zealand.
But Kumagai is up for it.
“When (head coach Ikeda Futoshi) told me I was captain, face to face, I told him I am ready for the responsibility,” Kumagai said following a training session in Chibain a recent interview with the International Olympic Council. “There will be things I have to do, things I have to say. I’ll have to look out for the interests of the entire team. “I want the team to be able to look back and say that they were glad Kumagai was our captain. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure that happens.”
At 32, Kumagai is the oldest of Ikeda’s 23 for the Finals which will begin later this month and with Iwabuchi out, the three-time World Cup veteran and Olympic medallist has become the last hold-over from Nadeshiko – who made a dramatic run to the 2011 title. Kumagai has been Japan’s captain since lifting the World Cup in Germany 12 years ago after converting the winning spot-kick in the shootout of the final against the United States.
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