_34_(cropped).jpg) Manaka with theNorth Carolina Courage in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manaka Matsukubo | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2004-07-28)28 July 2004 (age 21) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kagoshima,Kagoshima, Japan[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | North Carolina Courage | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2022 | JFA Academy Fukushima | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | JFA Academy Fukushima | 46 | (30) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Mynavi Sendai | 12 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | →North Carolina Courage (loan) | 18 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | North Carolina Courage | 31 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Japan U16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Japan U20 | 16 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Japan | 9 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 October 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Manaka Matsukubo (松窪 真心,Matsukubo Manaka; born 28 July 2004) is a Japanese professionalfootballer who plays as aforward orattacking midfielder for theNorth Carolina Courage of theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and theJapan national team.
Manaka representedJapan at the2022 and2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cups, reaching the final at both events and earning the Silver Ball at the latter, before making her senior debut in 2025.
Manaka made her professional debut forMynavi Sendai of theWE League on 5 March 2023 and played 1,075 minutes across the season.[3] She helped the team to a fourth-place finish in her first year as a professional, scoring four goals and adding one assist.[4]
On 27 July 2023, theNorth Carolina Courage acquired Manaka on loan from Mynavi Sendai through the following June.[3] She made her NWSL debut on 27 August 2023, starting in a draw against theChicago Red Stars.[5] On 6 September, she started in the2023 NWSL Challenge Cup semifinal against theKansas City Current, becoming the youngest player in the start a game in the tournament.[4] Three days later, she started inthe final againstRacing Louisville and scored the second goal of the 2–0 victory.[6] She was the youngest player to score in the competition and was named MVP of the title game.[4] Head coachSean Nahas called her a "star in the making" after the game.[7] The following week, she scored her first regular-season goal against theOrlando Pride.[8] On 15 October, she assistedTyler Lussi's winner against theWashington Spirit on the final matchday of the season, clinching a playoff berth for the Courage.[9]
On 27 June 2024, Manaka was signed by the Courage permanently through the 2025 season.[10] On 7 July, she scored her first goal of the season when she chipped Racing Louisville goalkeeperKatie Lund from distance, earning a nomination forNWSL Goal of the Week.[11][12] On 5 October, after returning from the2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, she set up a goal forAline Gomes and scored the game winner against theSan Diego Wave, clinching a playoff berth and winning NWSL Goal of the Week for her header on a deflected cross fromRyan Williams.[13][14]
On 10 January 2025, the Courage extended Manaka's contract through the 2026 season.[15] She scored her first NWSLbrace on 17 May, bagging both goals in the win over the Chicago Stars, and was named theNWSL Player of the Week.[16] On 21 June, she assistedHannah Betfort's winner against theHouston Dash, becoming the second-youngest NWSL player (afterTrinity Rodman) to record goal contributions in five consecutive regular-season games (four goals and three assists).[17] On 17 October, she scored her first NWSLhat trick in a 4–1 win overBay FC, becoming the youngest NWSL player to score a hat trick, and was named NWSL Player of the Week for a second time.[18] She finished the 2025 season with 11 goals, third in the NWSL.[19] She was namedNWSL Midfielder of the Year andNWSL Best XI First Team at the end of the season.[20]
Manaka played forJapan's under-20 side during theFIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2022,[21] scoring one goal as Japan made it tothe final.
She was called up to play at the2024 AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup, scoring 3 goals, but she left early to return to her club.[22]
She was selected for her secondFIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2024.[23] In the semifinals, she scored both goals in a 2–0 victory over theNetherlands.[24] She scored three goals in all at the tournament and received the Silver Ball as its second-best player.
Manaka received her first senior call-up toJapan in October 2024.[25] She made her senior international debut on 20 February 2025, coming on as a substitute forMaika Hamano during a 4–0 win againstAustralia at the2025 SheBelieves Cup.[24]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| JFA Academy Fukushima | 2019 | Challenge League | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| 2020 | Challenge League | 12 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9 | |
| 2021 | Nadeshiko League 2 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 15 | |
| 2022 | Nadeshiko League 2 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | |
| Total | 46 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 33 | ||
| Mynavi Sendai | 2022–23 | WE League | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| North Carolina Courage (loan) | 2023 | NWSL | 7 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2 | |
| North Carolina Courage | 2024 | NWSL | 14 | 2 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| Total | 21 | 3 | — | 2 | 1 | 23 | 4 | |||
| Career Total | 79 | 37 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 84 | 41 | ||
JFA Academy Fukushima
North Carolina Courage
Japan
Individual
