is a Japanese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the

WE League The , officially the , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top flight of women's association football in Japan, starting from the 2021–22 season. It is the first fully-professional women's football league in Japan. The current ...

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 is a women's professional football team that plays in Japan's WE League. It is based in the Kita, Itabashi, Inagi, Hino, Tama, and Tachikawa wards of Tokyo. They have won 52 major Asian and national titles, the most of any team in the W ...

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 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

National team career

On 18 February 2006, when Iwashimizu was 19 years old, she debuted for Japan national team against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

.Japan Football Association
/ref> She has played in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and 2015 World Cups, winning the 2011 World Cup and winning a silver medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. 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 Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American former professional association football, soccer player.She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team with ...

. 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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and the final against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She played 122 games and scored 11 goals for Japan until 2016.

Club statistics

National team statistics

List of match i
2010

at Japan Football Association

Honors and awards

Team

; Japan women's national football team *

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

: ''Champion'':

* East Asian Football Championship : ''Champion'':

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

* East Asian Football Championship : ''Champions'':

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

: ''Champion'':

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

; Nippon TV Beleza * L.League : ''Champions (11)'': 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 *

Empress's Cup , since 2018 renamed "Empress's Cup JFA Japan Women's Football Championship" () or The JFA Empress's Cup (from 2024 onwards), is a Japanese Women's football competition. As an elimination tournament, it can be considered the female counterpart to t ...

: : ''Champions'': 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2018 *

Nadeshiko League Cup The Nadeshiko League Cup (Japanese: なでしこリーグカップ) is a cup competition for women's football clubs in Japan. The competition began as the L.League Cup in 1996 and it was abolished after the 1999 edition. It reappeared on the occa ...

: : ''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

References

External links

* * * *
Japan Football Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwashimizu, Azusa 1986 births Living people People from Takizawa, Iwate Japan Women's College of Physical Education alumni Association football people from Iwate Prefecture Japanese women's footballers Japan women's international footballers Nadeshiko League players Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza players FIFA Women's World Cup–winning players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Olympic footballers for Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games footballers for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games FIFA Women's Century Club Women's association football defenders 21st-century Japanese sportswomen