Japan World Cup Preparation
📍 Accra Ghana 🇬🇭 • by Sherdy • Jun 01, 2026
Ayase Ueda, the Japanese striker for Feyenoord in the Netherlands. He’s the Eredivisie top scorer for 2025-26 and is set to head to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Japan.
1. Eredivisie top scorer 2025-26
- Ueda finished the 2025-26 season with *25 goals in 29 Eredivisie appearances*, 9 goals clear of the next best scorer, Ajax’s Mika Godts.
- He became the *first Japanese player ever to finish as Eredivisie top scorer*, winning the Willy van der Kuylen Trophy.
- Total 2025-26: *26 goals in 38 games across all competitions*.
2. Standout performances
- Named *Eredivisie Player of the Month for October 2025*, the first Japanese player ever to win the award.
- Scored 5 goals in October, including a first-half hat-trick vs Heracles Almelo. That hat-trick made him the 4th Feyenoord player this century to score a first-half hat-trick, joining Guidetti, Kuyt and Giménez.
- Became only the 3rd Feyenoord player this century to score the opening goal in 3 consecutive Eredivisie matches, after Roy Makaay and Graziano Pellè. 8da5
3. Japan national team & World Cup
- Ueda is currently Japan’s most outstanding striker.
- He scored a late equalizer vs Paraguay in a 2025 international and netted in Japan’s 3-2 win over Brazil in 2026.
- With Japan qualifying for the *2026 FIFA World Cup*, Ueda is expected to be a key forward for Hajime Moriyasu’s squad.
4. Club career
- Joined Feyenoord from Cercle Brugge in 2023 for ~€9m.
- Won the *KNVB Cup 2023-24* and *Johan Cruyff Shield 2024* with Feyenoord.
- After 14 goals in his first two seasons, he broke out in 2025-26.
- Premier League clubs including Tottenham, Brighton, Everton and Leeds have been linked with a summer 2026 move.
5. Individual honors
- Japan Pro-Footballers Association Best XI: 2023, 2024, 2025
- Japan Pro-Footballers Association Player of the Year: 2025
- Eredivisie Fantasy Football Team of the Season 2025-26
Ueda is 27, born 28 Aug 1998 in Ibaraki, Japan. At 182cm and a right-footed forward, he’s in the form of his career heading into the World Cup.
1. Eredivisie top scorer 2025-26
- Ueda finished the 2025-26 season with *25 goals in 29 Eredivisie appearances*, 9 goals clear of the next best scorer, Ajax’s Mika Godts.
- He became the *first Japanese player ever to finish as Eredivisie top scorer*, winning the Willy van der Kuylen Trophy.
- Total 2025-26: *26 goals in 38 games across all competitions*.
2. Standout performances
- Named *Eredivisie Player of the Month for October 2025*, the first Japanese player ever to win the award.
- Scored 5 goals in October, including a first-half hat-trick vs Heracles Almelo. That hat-trick made him the 4th Feyenoord player this century to score a first-half hat-trick, joining Guidetti, Kuyt and Giménez.
- Became only the 3rd Feyenoord player this century to score the opening goal in 3 consecutive Eredivisie matches, after Roy Makaay and Graziano Pellè. 8da5
3. Japan national team & World Cup
- Ueda is currently Japan’s most outstanding striker.
- He scored a late equalizer vs Paraguay in a 2025 international and netted in Japan’s 3-2 win over Brazil in 2026.
- With Japan qualifying for the *2026 FIFA World Cup*, Ueda is expected to be a key forward for Hajime Moriyasu’s squad.
4. Club career
- Joined Feyenoord from Cercle Brugge in 2023 for ~€9m.
- Won the *KNVB Cup 2023-24* and *Johan Cruyff Shield 2024* with Feyenoord.
- After 14 goals in his first two seasons, he broke out in 2025-26.
- Premier League clubs including Tottenham, Brighton, Everton and Leeds have been linked with a summer 2026 move.
5. Individual honors
- Japan Pro-Footballers Association Best XI: 2023, 2024, 2025
- Japan Pro-Footballers Association Player of the Year: 2025
- Eredivisie Fantasy Football Team of the Season 2025-26
Ueda is 27, born 28 Aug 1998 in Ibaraki, Japan. At 182cm and a right-footed forward, he’s in the form of his career heading into the World Cup.
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