The Japan Football Association on Friday confirmed Futoshi Ikeda as Nadeshiko Japan’s new head coach, placing their trust in him to take the standout results he's achieved at the underage level and apply them to a senior team that has struggled against international peers in recent years.
Ikeda will inherit a Nadeshiko team far removed from its famed triumph at the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany, where Norio Sasaki’s squad shocked the United States in a penalty shootout to become world champions.
“Japan became No. 1 in the world in 2011, and I want to build a team that can reclaim that position,” Ikeda said. “We have to raise our standard, aim to become the best in the world and become a team that everyone supports.”