| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mei Shimada | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2002-05-08)8 May 2002 (age 23) | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mitaka, Japan | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||
Current team | Urawa Reds | ||||||||||
| Number | 24 | ||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2022- | Urawa Reds | 78 | (22) | ||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||
| 2022 | U20 Japan | 3 | |||||||||
| 2023 | Japan national team | 4 | |||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2025-09-25 | |||||||||||
Mei Shimada (born 8 May 2002) is a Japanese professionalfootballer who plays as aforward. Shimada is a gold medal winner for the2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou. She currently plays for theWE League clubUrawa Reds.
In August 2022, Shima was selected to the U20 Japanese national team and played in 3 matches in the2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[1] They finished as runner up.[2]
In August 2023, Shimada was selected into the Japanese national football team to play in the 2022 Asian Games held inHangzhou,China.[3] The games were actually played in 2023 due to delay caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic. During the Asian games, Shimada played in four matches[4] and contributed to Japan's gold medal.[5]
After graduation fromFujimura Girls' High School [ja], Shimawa was promoted fromUrawa Reds' youth team to the senior team in 2021.[6][7]
Shimada is a key player in the Urawa Reds, she plays as atarget forward to bring her team into the attack. Since 2022, she played in 78 matches and scored 22 goals, and contributed significantly to the twoWE League championship in season 2022-23 and season 2023-24.[8]Sponichi described her as a "next generation heroine".[9] SinceKiko Seike, a key player in the previous seasons, transferred to theWomen's Super League clubBrighton & Hove Albion, Shimada has to lead the front line of Urawa Reds.[10]
Shimada is well regarded by sports analysts. For e.g., in a tactical analysis byFootball Tribe, the analyst pointed out that Urawa Reds was losing tactically toCerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies' 3-1-4-2 formation, but Shimada's"excellence at receiving passes in crowded areas" helped them over come the team fromOsaka.[11]The club's manager also agreed that Shimada's off the ball movement created goal scoring chances for the team.[12]
In 2023, British mediaAnalyticsFC selected her as one of the rising stars in Japan, writing that "Her decision making is often on-point and she is rarely seen to hesitate in a critical do-or-die situation...for expected goals, touches in the box, and open play defensive headers she is in the top 10% of the league."[13]
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