The best young female footballers on the planet have gathered in the Dominican Republic to compete in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™. In our World Stars in the Making series, players open up on their personal journeys and day-to-day lives. Our first instalments were with Molly Vapensky, Renata Mercedes, Yngrid Piaui and Peace Effiong. Today, it’s over to Japan’s striking starlet Momo Sato.
For someone with a genuine fear of ghosts, 31 October is looming as a day of dissonance for Japan’s Momo Saruang Ueki Sato.
The teenage starlet has lit up the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ and, should the Little Nadeshiko see off England in the quarter-finals, a last-four showdown with either Spain or Ecuador awaits, on Halloween.
Pumpkins, apple-bobbing and jack-o-lanterns are all fine with Sato, but the ghosts she can do without, as she tells FIFA.
“Fortunately I have never seen one [a ghost], but I can’t watch movies like that at all. If I were to sense something invisible, I wouldn’t know what to do. If it were something visible, I think I could handle it myself.”
That’s a line that could well be used to describe the 17-year-old herself, with the diminutive striker trick-and-treating her way through plenty of vaunted defences at both the continental championships, where Japan fell to Korea DPR in the final of the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup, and now on the global stage.
Born and raised in Osaka, Sato’s story is one that has roots far from the bright lights and dizzying pace of Japan’s second largest city. If you rode the trade winds from the island of Palau, the homeland of Sato’s father to that of her mother, it would take you three days.
Culturally, it could take years.
Even though she’s only visited Palau, a tiny Pacific speck located between Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, once, she carries her father’s ancestral home with her.
“I’ve heard that a person named Ueki was the ambassador and president of Palau, but I don’t know much about that. However, being named Ueki and having pride in family and myself is something I’ve been told since I was little, and my parents have often reminded me of that.
“Palauan women are also quite strong-willed, and I feel that when I meet and talk with my grandmother or aunt. I’ve sensed that since I was young, and I feel that having that strong will also runs in my Palauan blood.”
Those resolute maternal bloodlines also flow from the paternal side, with Sato crediting her father – a champion college wrestler in the US – with fostering an iron will that serves the teenage striker well when faced with moments of adversity on the pitch.
“I haven’t learned football skills from my father, but he is always very passionate about competition and practicing. He definitely comes to see my matches, and not only does he watch, but he supports me with even more enthusiasm than I have.
“Growing up seeing that passion and feeling it, I believe that my competitiveness also comes from him, and that’s how I’ve developed a constant intensity since childhood.”
Earmarked from an early age for future success, Sato is part of a young generation that has benefited from Japan’s multi-pronged development approach, having spent time at both club and school level as well as several years in the elite JFA Academy in Sakai.
There she honed her technical and tactical traits and already she displays the game sense – positioning, movement, off-the-ball runs – of a much older player. Crucially, for a striker leading the line at one of youth football’s traditional powerhouse nations, she’s both composed and clinical in front of goal.
They are qualities Sato argues come not from football training but from a totally different pursuit altogether; those of the ivory and wood persuasion.
“My mother plays the piano, and I started playing when I was two years old. By the time I was in first grade, I was participating in national competitions. I even placed third, achieving quite a good result. During the preparations for the national competition, I practiced a lot, sometimes even crying [through the efforts of practicing so hard], which I think connects to football.
“I developed patience by enduring challenges, and having performed in front of others since I was young, I don’t get nervous very often. In fact, I think the ability to enjoy being on bigger stages now comes from playing the piano.”
The stages, now, are certainly bigger. Having cruised through the first phase at Dominican Republic 2024 as group winners, with six in the goals for column and only two in the negative ledger, Japan are emerging as one of the clear Caribbean title favourites.
Those results have also seen the current generation continue a remarkable run of consistency for Japan at this level, with the nation having qualified for and then reached the knockout stage at each of the eight editions of the U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Little Nadeshiko also have an enviable record of tuition leading to graduation, with Mana Iwabuchi, Hina Sugita, Hinata Miyazawa and Fuka Nagano just some of the previous youth stars who have gone on to impressive senior careers.
Now it’s the turn of the current crop and, in the likes of central string-puller Miharu Shinjo, pint-sized playmaker Noa Fukushima and Sato, there’s plenty to be excited about.
Although there may be spurts to come, for now, Sato knows she lacks the height of others in her position and has had to adapt her game accordingly. In naming one of her nations’ greats as an inspiration, she’s determined to scale those same global heights.
“Shinji Okazaki is not particularly tall but I feel similar to him in some ways. I admire his movement towards the goal and the way he uses his smaller stature to make certain moves. I watch his videos and not only his plays but also his interviews and articles to reference his way of thinking.
“I have dreamed of being on the national team since I was very small, so I feel really happy to be able to play now on this stage. I don’t feel any pressure from past performances; I think of this as just one step towards our goal of being number one in the world.
“Among many players of the same generation, being selected to play here makes me feel a responsibility as well. Of course, I want to win, but I believe I also have a responsibility to enjoy the game during matches.”
