Their 2026 World Cup
Three games and 192 minutes in the Japanese midfield.
Match by match
A. Tanaka played 3 matches for Japan: 2 as a starter and 1 off the bench.
| Round | Match | His game |
|---|---|---|
| Group F | vs Tunisia 4-0 | Started, played the full match |
| Group F | vs Sweden 1-1 | Started, played the full match |
| Round of 32 | vs Brazil 1-2 | Came on in the 78′ |
Who he is
- Born
- 10 September 1998 · aged 27 at the World Cup
- Birthplace
- Miyamae-ku
- Club
- Leeds United F.C.
- Height
- 1.77 m
Data: Wikidata (CC0).
Biography
Ao Tanaka (田中 碧, Tanaka Ao; born 10 September 1998) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Leeds United and the Japan national team.
Early life Ao Tanaka was born in the Miyamae-ku ward of Kawasaki on 10 September 1998. His parents originally wanted to give him a different name, but the sky was so blue on the day of his birth that they named him Ao, the Japanese word for "blue". He started playing football in kindergarten, and in addition to football, he was involved in other athletic pursuits such as gymnastics. However, football was the one he enjoyed the most, and he started kicking the ball against the wall alone in the park for practise. Tanaka entered Saginuma Elementary School and joined its football club, Saginuma SC, which was well known in the area. The team's coach at the time later recalled Tanaka's trial session; Tanaka was kicking the ball happily at first, but was crying in the corner of the schoolyard halfway through. When the coach asked him why he was crying, he replied, "I'm bored with this practice.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · opening summary of the article.
Tournament data from API-Football. See more rankings on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: 内閣官房内閣広報室 · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)