Ritsu Dōan

is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Japan national team.

Youth career Dōan attended Amagasaki Municipal Urakaze Elementary School and Amagasaki Municipal Odaminami Junior High School.

During his elementary school years, he played for Urakaze FC and also honed his technical skills at the Vissel Kobe soccer school; later, he joined Nishinomiya SS. Upon entering junior high school, he received offers from the junior youth teams of Gamba Osaka, Cerezo Osaka, Vissel Kobe, and Nagoya Grampus Eight, ultimately choosing to join Gamba Osaka Junior Youth. In 2012, while with the junior youth team, he achieved an unprecedented national treble at the U-15 level.

At the Gamba youth academy, he quickly distinguished himself as an attacking midfielder capable of playing on either flank; thanks to his powerful physique and left-footed play, he was dubbed the "next Akihiro Ienaga"—a fellow Gamba youth product who shared similar characteristics.

Club career

Gamba Osaka Coming through the youth system, Dōan joined J1 League club Gamba Osaka in 2015. On 27 May, he debuted against FC Seoul in the 2015 AFC Champions League. In 2016, he mainly played for their Gamba Osaka's newly-established reserve team Gamba Osaka U-23 in the J3 League.

Groningen

In June 2017, Dōan moved to Eredivisie club FC Groningen on loan with an option to purchase on a three-year contract. The option was exercised on 23 April 2018, and Dōan transferred to Groningen on a permanent basis on 1 July 2018.

On 15 April 2018, against Roda, Dōan scored his eighth goal of the season, equaling the total of goals Arjen Robben scored as a teenager for Groningen.

PSV Eindhoven Dōan joined PSV Eindhoven on a five-year contract in 2019.

Loan to Arminia Bielefeld In September 2020, he moved on loan to Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld for the 2020–21 season.

SC Freiburg On 5 July 2022, SC Freiburg announced that they had signed Dōan ahead of the 2022–23 season. Later that year, he scored his first goal for the club on 6 August, in a 4–0 win versus Augsburg. In the 2024–25 season, he became his club's top scorer with 10 goals, all scored in the Bundesliga.

Eintracht Frankfurt On 7 August 2025, Dōan joined fellow Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt by signing a contract until 2030.

International career Youth In May 2017, Dōan was elected Japan national under-20 team for the 2017 U-20 World Cup. At this tournament, he played full-time in all four matches and scored three goals.

Senior On 30 August 2018, Dōan received his first international call-up from the Japan national team for the Kirin Challenge Cup 2018. He started his debut appearance in a friendly match against Costa Rica on 11 September 2018, and scored his debut goal in a friendly match against Uruguay on 16 October 2018.

He was called-up by Hajime Moriyasu to represent Japan in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He featured in Japan's first match of the competition against Germany on 23 November 2022, being subbed on in the second half while Japan was 1–0 down. Dōan scored the equalizer four minutes after coming on as his side later went on to win the game 2–1. In an almost identical turn of events, he was subbed on in the second half of Japan's final group stage match against Spain on 1 December 2022 while Japan was 1–0 down, and scored the equalizer two minutes after coming on as his side later went on to win 2–1. The win ultimately qualified Japan for the tournament's knockout stages as group winners.

On 15 May 2026, Dōan was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

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

Japan U19 AFC U-19 Championship: 2016

Japan AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2019

Individual AFC U-19 Championship Most Valuable Player: 2016 AFC Youth Player of the Year: 2016 Best XI: 2022 Bundesliga Fantasy Team of the Season: 2024–25 IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the Year: 2025