This will be my last World Cup: Sawa

She made her international debut in 1993, scoring four goals in her first ever match, a win against the Philippines, when she was 15.

Now, the 36-year-old attacking midfielder is a seasoned veteran of the Nadeshiko team and was the leading goal-scorer and player of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany where Japan beat the USA on penalties to finish as winners.

A few months later, she crowned this achievement by being named FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year.

“Yes, this will be my last World Cup, but I’ll still keep playing football as long as my mind and body allow it,” she told fifa.com. “Of course, if I still have the opportunity then I’d love to play at the Olympic women’s football tournament next year.

“I definitely don’t want to become a coach; it just doesn’t interest me. Apart from that I still don’t know exactly what awaits me after I hang up my boots, but I definitely want to remain in football in some capacity. I’d love to be involved with the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.”

Sawa was the captain of the Norio Sasaki-led team four years ago in Germany, however she does not mind younger but experienced colleague Aya Miyama taking the lead in the current campaign.

“Now Aya is our captain,” she said. “From my experience, I know that it's not easy to lead the team. I want to do everything to support her. Sometimes I just listen to her, sometimes she might need some advice.

“When we have 23 players, there are many ideas, which is good. In those cases, the captain organises the ideas to work as a team. No matter how old I am, I always want to show my attitude on the pitch and I think that is important for me.

“Aya now holds the responsibility of making the team better. Seamless transitions are part and parcel of Japanese football, and I think that’s a great thing.”

Japan will play the Netherlands in the Round of 16 of Canada 2015 at the BC Place Stadium on Tuesday.

Photo: FIFA/Getty Images