Ayase Ueda

Ayase Ueda took the long route into professional football. He started at Yoshidagaoka SSS at the age of six, went through Kashima Antlers Norte during junior high, then played for Kashima Gakuen High School and later Hosei University, where he studied Sport Studies while turning out for the university side and also being registered as a designated special player with Kashima Antlers. In July 2019 he gave up his student status to sign for Kashima permanently on a free transfer, and made his professional debut that same month.

He never won a major trophy during his three seasons at Kashima, but he built himself into a leading J1 League forward, was named one of the 31 Outstanding J.League Players in 2021 and finished as the division's top scorer in June 2022. That form took him to Cercle Brugge, where he was joint-second highest scorer in the Belgian Pro League with 18 goals in the 2022–23 season, and from there to Feyenoord in 2023. In Rotterdam he won the KNVB Cup and, in 2024, the Johan Cruyff Shield, converting a penalty in the shootout against PSV. He capped his time at the club by finishing as Eredivisie top scorer in the 2025–26 season with 25 goals in 31 games.

Ueda has been a fixture for Japan since his senior debut against Chile at the 2019 Copa América. He took a silver medal with the Under-23 side at the 2018 Asian Games and reached the semi-finals with Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scored three goals at the 2023 Asian Cup, and found the net twice against Tunisia at the 2026 World Cup.