Yui Hasegawa (長谷川 唯, Hasegawa Yui, born January 29, 1997) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester City in the English FA Women's Super League and Japan national team. She previously played for Tokyo Verdy Beleza, AC Milan, and West Ham United. A versatile attacking midfielder, she is also capable of operating as a deep-lying playmaker.
![]() Hasegawa with Japan in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Yui Hasegawa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1997-01-29) January 29, 1997 (age 25) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Toda, Saitama, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Manchester City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009–2012 | Nippon TV Beleza | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013–2021 | Nippon TV Beleza | 148 | (19) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2021 | Milan | 9 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2021–2022 | West Ham United | 17 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022– | Manchester City | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2012–2014 | Japan U-17 | 17 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016 | Japan U-20 | 19 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017– | Japan | 59 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 3, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of August 20, 2022 |
Hasegawa was born in Miyagi Prefecture on January 29, 1997. Thanks to the influence of her older brother, she began playing football in kindergarten at the age of six, and initially played amongst boys before joining a girl's football club around the age of nine.[1]
In 2009, aged 11, she was accepted into Menina, the nation's top youth academy of the club she would later play for, Tokyo Verdy Beleza. Over a four-year period from 2011–2014, she was a central figure behind Menina's successive titles at the JFA U-18 All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournaments.[2]
While at the academy, she befriended and rose through the ranks with fellow players such as Risa Shimizu and Yuka Momiki, all of whom would go on play for the Japan national team together.[3]
Having progressed through the youth set-up of Tokyo Verdy Beleza, the club with the most number of titles in the top flight of women's football in Japan, Hasegawa was promoted to the senior team in 2013. Despite her young age and relative inexperience in the first team, she immediately established herself as a regular starter in midfield, amongst other senior teammates who were already heavyweights in the Japan national team at the time.
She made her Nadeshiko League debut on 23 March 2013, as a sixteen-year-old, against FC Kibi IU Charme.[4]
The 2015 Nadeshiko League season proved to be a breakout year for her in senior football, as she scored her first goal in the Nadeshiko League against Iga FC Kunoichi on 23 September 2015,[5] and played a key part in leading the team to win the championship that year, ending a five-year drought for the domestic title.[6] In the years since, she has won multiple trophies with Beleza; including five successive domestic titles, the annual Empress's Cup, and the League Cup.
At the age of 21, she reached the milestone of 100 league appearances for Beleza on 3 May 2018, in a scoreless draw against Nojima Stella Kanagawa.[7]
Hasegawa was first chosen to the Nadeshiko League Best XI in the 2017 season and had been selected every year without fail (total of four consecutive times), until she left Japan to play overseas in 2021.[8]
On 29 January 2021, which happened to be her birthday, it was announced that Hasegawa would join AC Milan in the Serie A Femminile.[9] She made an impressive debut as she netted a brace, including one direct free-kick in Milan's 6–1 victory over Pink Bari on 27 February 2021.[10] She was also awarded Player of the Match in that game.[11] In her half a season in Italy, Hasegawa featured in nine games and scored three goals for the club.[12]
In August 2021, Hasegawa signed a two-year contract with English side West Ham United.[13]
She scored her first goal for the club's first ever victory over Manchester City in the Women's Super League, assisting the first and scoring the second in their 2–0 win on 3 October 2021.[14] She also scored a superbly well-taken goal, beating two defenders, in West Ham's victory over Reading on 24 April 2022.[15] Both of these goals from Hasegawa won the WSL Goal of the Month awards, with the latter being nominated for the league's Goal of the Season as well.[16] In her first season with the Hammers, Hasegawa helped West Ham achieve their best ever, sixth-place finish in the league.
On 8 September 2022, Hasegawa signed a three-year deal with fellow WSL side Manchester City.[17][18] While at Manchester City, she begun playing as a deep-lying playmaker rather than her usual attacking role, filling the gap left behind by Keira Walsh following her departure to FC Barcelona.[19] She scored her first goal for the club in their 4-0 win against Leicester City on 16 October 2022.[20][21]
Hasegawa has been featured throughout all youth levels of the Japan national team set-up, since she was first called up to the U-17 national team in 2011 at the age of 14.
She began her international career as a 15-year-old at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan, where she started in two matches against Brazil in the group stage and Ghana in the quarter-final. Japan were knocked out in the 1–0 quarter-final defeat, and Hasegawa ended her first international tournament with 2 goals, from a brace against New Zealand.[22]
The following year, her development was accelerated yet again as she was called up to the U-20 national team to participate in the 2013 AFC U-19 Women's Championship despite still being 16.
As the U-20 squad had failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup that year, Hasegawa returned to her original age group to play in the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica. She started all six matches in Japan's remarkable run that saw them emerge as the champions.[23] A cornerstone of Japan's attack, she scored three goals against Paraguay, New Zealand and Mexico, as she went on to receive the individual honour of the adidas Silver Ball – the second best player of the tournament – behind fellow teammate Hina Sugita who won the Golden Ball.[24]
On 1 March 2017, Hasegawa won her first senior cap for the Japan women's national team when she made her debut as a half-time substitute against Spain at the 2017 Algarve Cup.[25] In the following match, she scored her first international goals at senior level, netting twice in Japan's 2–0 win over Iceland.[26][27]
She was also part of Japan's squad as they defended their Asian Cup title, during the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Jordan. She provided the assist[28] for Kumi Yokoyama's crucial winning goal that saw Japan lift the trophy, beating regional rivals Australia by a 1–0 scoreline for the second consecutive time.[29] In the same year, she won a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games, where Japan emerged champions of yet another closely contested final, to win 1–0 over China.[30]
Hasegawa participated in her first World Cup competition at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. She was part of a new generation of Nadeshiko stars, as the Japan senior team was in a period of transition, moving on from many of the players who featured in the squad that reached the previous World Cup final, and had lifted the historic title in 2011. Despite Japan's exit to the Netherlands in the Round of 16, Hasegawa's equaliser in that match was nominated for Goal of the Tournament.[31]
In July 2021, Hasegawa took part in the 2020 Summer Olympics held in her home country of Japan. She started in all four of Japan's matches and provided two assists as Japan was eliminated from the competition in the quarter-final, where they lost 3–1 to eventual silver medalists Sweden.[32]
As of August 2022, she has played 59 games and scored 14 goals for Japan.[33]
Primarily an attacking midfielder, Hasegawa most often operates as a wide midfielder on the left in a 4-3-3 formation while playing with Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza, although her versatility also allows her to occupy many positions in midfield.[34] Hasegawa is described as a player who possesses exceptional ability on the ball, whose electric feet, quick acceleration and low centre of gravity make her an adept dribbler and press resistant.[34] She also possesses a wide variety of passes in her arsenal when combined with her a great passing range and ball carrying capability, made her ranks among the best players in her positions in terms of ball progression.[34] She also possesses a keen sense of tactical awareness and sense of positioning which makes her great penetration threat with or without the ball.[35] Hasegawa is also an effective player on the defensive end where her intense counter pressing in the final third regularly helps her side to quickly regain possession through intercepting opposition play.[36]
Since joining Manchester City, Hasegawa has primarily operate in the holding midfielder position with greater defensive duty compared to her previous roles.
Club | Season | League | National Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Nippon TV Beleza | 2013 | Nadeshiko League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | - | 27 | 2 | |
2014 | Nadeshiko League | 21 | 0 | 4 | 3 | - | - | 25 | 3 | |||
2015 | Nadeshiko League | 22 | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 26 | 4 | |||
2016 | Nadeshiko League | 18 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 3 | - | 32 | 8 | ||
2017 | Nadeshiko League | 18 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | - | 29 | 5 | ||
2018 | Nadeshiko League | 18 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | - | 28 | 7 | ||
2019 | Nadeshiko League | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 24 | 4 | ||
2020 | Nadeshiko League | 18 | 7 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 23 | 7 | |||
Total | 148 | 19 | 34 | 11 | 32 | 10 | - | 214 | 40 | |||
A.C. Milan | 2020-2021 | Serie A | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 3 | ||
West Ham United | 2021-2022 | FA WSL | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 23 | 2 | |
Manchester City | 2022-2023 | FA WSL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 1 | |
Total | 19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 25 | 3 | |||
Career Total | 176 | 25 | 41 | 11 | 35 | 10 | - | 252 | 46 |
Japan national team | ||
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Year | Apps | Goals |
2017 | 13 | 2 |
2018 | 17 | 2 |
2019 | 12 | 4 |
2021 | 10 | 1 |
2022 | 9 | 3 |
Total | 61 | 14 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1. | 3 March 2017 | Bela Vista Municipal Stadium, Parchal, Portugal | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2017 Algarve Cup |
2. | 2–0 | |||||
3. | 5 March 2018 | Estádio Algarve, Almancil, Portugal | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2018 Algarve Cup |
4. | 25 August 2018 | Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang, Indonesia | ![]() | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2018 Asian Games |
5. | 3 March 2019 | Nissan Stadium, Nashville, United States | ![]() | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2019 SheBelieves Cup |
6. | 9 April 2019 | Benteler-Arena, Paderborn, Germany | ![]() | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
7. | 25 June 2019 | Roazhon Park, Rennes, France | ![]() | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup |
8. | 6 October 2019 | IAI Stadium Nihondaira, Shizuoka, Japan | ![]() | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
9. | 11 April 2021 | Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan | ![]() | 3–0 | 7–0 | Friendly |
10. | 21 January 2022 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India | ![]() | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup |
11. | 5–0 | |||||
12. | 27 June 2022 | Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland | ![]() | 5–1 | 5–1 | Friendly |
Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Japan U19
Japan
Individual
Manchester City W.F.C. – current squad | |
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