Credit: Tung Manh Phan

Richie Mills

Fri 3 April 2026 19:10, UK

West Ham United and Japan star Riko Ueki has endured an eventful week for club and country.

Less than two weeks ago, Ueki was lifting the Asian Cup trophy after beating Australia 1-0, with the Japan forward finishing as the tournament’s top scorer to boot.

On Sunday, she marked her return to West Ham duty by starting in their 1-1 draw with London City in the Women’s Super League as they inched closer towards top-flight safety.

But it hasn’t all been good news for the Japan international, who was also named in the Asian Cup team of the competition after collecting the Golden Boot thanks to scoring six goals.

As West Ham take a pause from WSL action due to the international break, a lot has happened in the space of a few days with the Japanese national team.

Riko Ueki gets Japan call-up as coach resigns

Japan are preparing for a three-game friendly series with the United States between 12-18 April.

Naturally, Ueki has been called up for these games as they prepare to lock horns with Emma Hayes’ team.

Japan head coach Nils Nielsen was expected to be in the dugout but he resigned on Thursday – just 12 days after their Asian Cup triumph.

Michihisa Kano has been placed in interim charge for the United States games, with the Japan Football Association announcing that he had stepped down following the expiration of his contract.

The Dane took up the role as Japan’s first foreign head coach of the women’s team in December 2024 and went on to win the 2025 SheBelievesCup early on in his tenure.

But he won’t be in charge for the United States games, which Ueki will hope to star in.

Japan and Australia unsuccessful with equal pay bid

Incidentally, Asian Cup finalists Japan and Australia say tournament organisers “ignored” their pre-competition request to address the inequality in prize money between the women’s and men’s events.

While the prize fund for the men’s tournament, which is set to be held in 2027, stands at £7.7million, the women’s event was down at £936,630.

Japan and Australia said in a joint statement: “Despite the success of this tournament it remains the lowest-paying continental tournament in the world and inequality between the men’s and women’s game remains.

“Our pre-tournament invitation to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to work together on equal prize money, a guaranteed share to all players, and to co-develop a lasting legacy has so far been ignored.

“Equal prize money would be transformational for all players and football communities across Asia and help raise standards at all levels of the game across our region. Equality benefits players in the short term, but football in the long term.”

While West Ham’s Ueki was thrilled to have topped the scoring charts, in addition to winning the Asian Cup, this news may not go down too well amongst Japanese and Australian players.