is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who plays for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club Antalyaspor and the Japan national team. Primarily a left winger, he has also played on the right flank and as a central second striker. After starting his career with

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with ...

of the

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Y ...

and

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be sim ...

of the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the ...

, he spent several years in Portugal's

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

with Portimonense and

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

. He also had brief spells in the Middle East. He was part of the Japanese under-23 team at the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

. First capped at senior level in 2018, he was part of the Japan team at the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and ...

Club career

Portimonense

On 27 August 2017, Nakajima moved abroad for the first time, signing a season-long loan with Portimonense of Portugal's

. After scoring 10 goals and as many assists in 32 total matches for the team from the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, he signed a permanent deal in May 2018.

Al Duhail

In February 2019, Nakajima joined

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promoti ...

side Al Duhail for a reported transfer fee of €35 million. He played seven games for the eventual runners-up, and scored once in a 6–0 home win over Al Ahli on 28 February.

Porto

On 5 July 2019,

announced an agreement with Al-Duhail for the acquisition of Nakajima's sports rights, in a €12 million transfer fee (50% of the player economic rights). He signed a five-year contract, keeping him contractually linked until 30 June 2024, with an €80 million release clause. Nakajima made his Porto debut on 13 August 2019 in the second leg of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

third qualifying round away to

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–2 loss that eliminated the team on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. He scored his first goal on 19 December 2019, the only one of a home win over Santa Clara in the fifth round of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

, his 17th appearance. On 16 January 2021, Nakajima joined

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is bordered to the east by the Omani ...

of the

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al ...

on a six-month loan deal including an optional €40 million transfer clause. After his time in the Middle East was ended by a

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it conn ...

break, on 25 August that year he returned on loan to Portimonense for a season.

Antalyaspor

Nakajima signed for Turkish club Antalyaspor in 2022. He made his debut on 18 September 2022 against Adana Demirspor, coming on the 59th minute only to be sent off in just 20 seconds after receiving a red card for a late sliding tackle.

International career

Youth level and under-23 career

Nakajima was first selected to represent the Japanese under-17 national team when he was called up to the Slovakia Cup, a friendly tournament in early May 2011 that served the purpose of preparing the squad for the

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédératio ...

. A month later, he was in Mexico playing at the 2011 U-17 World Cup, where he appeared in two matches and scored one goal in a 3–2 loss against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in the quarter-finals. In August 2013, Nakajima was called for the Japanese under-20 national team to participate in the

L'Alcúdia International Football Tournament The Torneo Internacional de Fútbol Sub-20 de L'Alcúdia (''L'Alcúdia International Under-20 Football Tournament''), better known as COTIF, is an annual international invitational football competition for youth teams, open to both clubs and natio ...

in Spain. The squad was eliminated in the group stage, and he scored in a 2–1 win against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. In January 2014, Nakajima played for the Japanese under-23 national team in the

2013 AFC U-22 Championship The 2013 AFC U-22 Championship (also known as the 2013 AFC U-22 Asian Cup) was the first edition of the AFC U-22 Championship. The hosting rights for the tournament was awarded to Oman. It was set to take place between 23 June and 7 July 2013 but ...

. He appeared in all three matches of the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

, scoring once against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and twice against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, as the team reached the quarter-finals. In September 2014, Nakajima was called for the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

, scoring against

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

in the

. The team reached the quarter-finals. In March 2015, he played two matches in the AFC U-23 Championship qualification and scored a double against

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. The team reached the first place of the group and was granted the qualification for the

2016 AFC U-23 Championship The 2016 AFC U-23 Championship (also known as the 2016 AFC U-23 Asian Cup) was the second edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) f ...

. In January 2016, he participated in the championship, scoring a double in the extra-time of the

quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

match against

and eventually won the competition with a 3–2 triumph against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Nakajima was also crown the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. In August 2016, he was elected for the Japanese Olympic national team (under-23) that competed in the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. He played three matches and scored a goal against

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, while the team came third in the

Senior career

On 15 March 2018, Nakajima was called by national manager Vahid Halilhodžić for upcoming matches against

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. Eight days later, he debuted and scored his first goal for Japanese national team against Mali in a 1–1 draw.

Hajime Moriyasu is a Japanese football manager and former player. He made more than 250 appearances in 14 years with Sanfrecce Hiroshima, including a year on loan to Kyoto Purple Sanga, before spending his final season as a professional with Vegalta Sendai. He ...

named Nakajima in the squad for the

in Brazil, which Japan guest entered with a mainly under-23 team. He scored the opening goal against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

in the last group game in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, but the 1–1 draw eliminated the team.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nakajima goal.''

Honours

Al-Duhail *

Qatar Emir Cup Emir of Qatar Cup ( ar, كأس أمير قطر), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by 18 first and second division teams. The most successful is Al Sad ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Porto *

: 2019–20 *

: 2019–20 Japan U23 *

AFC U-23 Championship The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, previously the AFC U-22 Championship (in 2013) and AFC U-23 Championship (between 2016 and 2020), is a biennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 n ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Individual *

Most Valuable Player:

Forward of the Month: October/November 2017 *

Player of the Month: September 2018 *SPJF Goal of the Month: November 2017 vs Tondela *SPJF Goal of the Month: February 2018 vs Feirense

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakajima, Shoa 1994 births Living people Association football people from Tokyo Japanese footballers Japan youth international footballers J1 League players J2 League players J3 League players Primeira Liga players Qatar Stars League players UAE Pro League players Süper Lig players Tokyo Verdy players Kataller Toyama players FC Tokyo players FC Tokyo U-23 players Portimonense S.C. players Al-Duhail SC players FC Porto players Al Ain FC players Antalyaspor footballers Japanese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Turkey Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey J.League U-22 Selection players Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Japan Association football wingers Asian Games competitors for Japan 2019 Copa América players Japan international footballers