City’s midfielder, alongside clubmates Ayaka Yamashita and Aoba Fujino, have been selected in Japan’s squad for the 2026 tournament held in Australia.
It will represent the third time she’s represented Nadeshiko at the Asian Cup after helping her nation to the trophy in 2018 before reaching the semi-finals in 2022.
Regarded as one of world football’s finest operators, Hasegawa has been a crucial member of City’s squad since her arrival in the summer of 2022 and has made a total of 117 outings for the Blues so far.
And the combative and classy midfielder detailed how facing different styles at past Asian Cups helped her massively.
“There aren’t many tournaments where you get the chance to play for the Japanese women’s national team so the Asian Cup is very important for us,” she explained.
“Of course, the World Cup is also an extremely tough competition but playing against Asian teams, whose style of football is quite different from what we see in Europe was a really valuable experience for me.
“I feel it broadened my game and gave me more options as a player. It was a tournament where I was able to add a lot to my game.
“In the past, Japanese players sometimes struggled physically but now many more are playing overseas and that side of the game has improved a lot.
“At the same time, we’re continuing to develop the technical qualities Japanese players have always had. Because of that, I think our chances of winning a title are definitely increasing.”
Watch Hasegawa’s full interview in the video player above!
