Just 11 days after he led the nation to the Women’s Asian Cup title, Nils Nielsen has parted ways with Japan.
Appointed in December 2024, the Greenland-born coach was the first foreigner to assume the Nadeshiko helm. In a brief statement, the Japan Football Association said the 54-year-old “will be stepping down from his role as head coach of the Japan Women’s team due to the expiration of his contract.”
That recent continental triumph, where Japan dazzled in winning all six matches, also qualified the Nadeshiko for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™.
The 2011 champions are one of six Asian nations to have secured passage to the global showpiece and will now commence the search for a new coach to guide the team at the tournament in just over a year’s time.
There, Japan will be aiming to improve on a quarter-final exit at Australia/New Zealand 2023. Preparations for the Women’s World Cup will commence with a three-match series against USA later this month in San Francisco, Seattle and Colorado.
