Liverpool Women have finally gotten into a good place with the squad, but will unfortunately be losing two of their most effective players to an international competition for the majority of the month. Fuka Nagano and Risa Shimizu are off to represent Japan in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, which runs from March 1 to March 21.

Japan’s first match is against Chinese Taipei in Perth on Wednesday, March 4, with India and Vietnam in their group on the horizon. Nagano and Shimizu will then be expected to miss the matches against Leicester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

“Of course it will be sad to be missing for my club, but for Japan the Asian Cup is a very important competition,” Nagano told the club website of the trip.

“We have to show our quality and that we are the strongest team in Asia and win this competition. It is still summer in Australia so it might be a bit warmer than it has been here recently, so I can’t wait to experience the warmer weather again!

“I’m excited for this tournament and I want to give it everything and enjoy the competition as much as I can.

“It would be a special moment if we lift up the trophy.”

Nagano, who came to Merseyside by way of NWSL side North Carolina Courage in 2023, admitted to struggling with the physicality of the league, but also included that the addition of Shimizu from Manchester City has been a welcome one.

“At first I struggled to adapt because of the physicality and the intensity of the football here,” Nagano explained.

“It was a lot different from football in Japan. Now I would say I am getting used to it, but I want to keep improving more and get better.

“I am really enjoying it here. I love our supporters because they welcomed me as part of the Liverpool family from day one, and also because they always support us even through the ups and downs that we have had, particularly this season.

“We are working hard to make them proud and hopefully that is something that we will be able to do.”

Shimizu joined the squad the summer of 2025 from the aforementioned Manchester City has gone a long way to help Nagano, who was already considered a force in her own right.

“Risa has been important for me,” she continued.

“She helps me a lot on and off the pitch. She knows me very well, so having her on the pitch makes a difference for me and, of course, she’s a very good player so I’m so happy that she came here.

“She had a bad injury when she was at Manchester City, so it’s been great to see her back and playing regularly in the team.”