Azusa Iwashimizu

is a Japanese footballer who played as a defender for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the WE League and the Japan national team.

Club career Iwashimizu was born in Takizawa on 14 October 1986. In 2003, she was promoted to Nippon TV Beleza after developing in their youth team. She played 260 matches in the L.League until 2017. She was elected to the league's Best XI for 12 years in a row (2006-2017).

National team career On 18 February 2006, when Iwashimizu was 19 years old, she debuted for Japan national team against Russia. She has played in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups, winning the 2011 World Cup and winning a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In the final minute of extra time in the 2011 World Cup Final, she was sent off after receiving a red card for slide tackling Alex Morgan. Japan would go on to win the match in the penalty shootout that followed.

Iwashimizu was instrumental in Japan's victory at the 2014 Asian Cup, scoring the winning goal in both the semifinal against China and the final against Australia. She played 122 games and scored 11 goals for Japan until 2016.

Club statistics

National team statistics

International goals # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 7 May 2006 Kumamoto Athletics Stadium, Kumamoto Japan 1–0 1–3 Friendly Match 2. 7 December 2006 Umm-Affai Stadium, Al-Rayyan Qatar 0–1 0–1 Football at the 2006 Asian Games 3. 10 December 2006 Qatar SC Stadium, Doha Qatar 1–0 3–1 Football at the 2006 Asian Games 4. 4 August 2007 Lạch Tray Stadium, Hai Phong, Vietnam 0–2 0–8 Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics qualification 5. 2 September 2007 Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba, Japan 1–1 2–1 Friendly Match 6. 15 January 2010 Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo Chile 1–1 1–1 2010 Bicennteniall Woman's Cup (es) 7. 20 May 2010 Chengdu Sports Centre, Chengdu China 1–0 8–0 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup 8. 22 November 2010 Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou China 0–1 0–1 Football at the 2010 Asian Games 9. 22 May 2014 Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 2-1 2–1 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup 10. 25 May 2014 Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 1-0 1-0 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup 11. 26 September 2014 Hwaseong Stadium, South Korea 5-0 9-0 Football at the 2014 Asian Games

Honors and awards

Team Japan women's national football team FIFA Women's World Cup Champion: 2011 East Asian Football Championship Champion: 2010 East Asian Football Championship Champions: 2008, 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup Champion: 2014 Nippon TV Beleza L.League Champions (11): 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Empress's Cup : Champions: 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2018 Nadeshiko League Cup : Champions: 2007, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018

Individual L.League Best Eleven (13): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018