After guiding Real Sociedad to a fourth-place finish in La Liga and helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League during his debut campaign, Kubo has maintained his fine form for the Basque club by weighing in with goals and assists in the Spanish top flight so far this season.

Kubo’s impressive numbers will be music to the ears of Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu as the Samurai Blue look to go one step further at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ after finishing as runners-up at the 2019 edition.Spanish giants Barcelona snapped up the Japanese wonderkid when he was just 10 years old and Kubo justified the hype by playing a starring role for the club’s youth teams. After four years of honing his skills at the famed La Masia, the youngster returned to Japan in 2015.

He continued to make waves in Japan, making his senior debut for FC Tokyo at the age of 15 years, 10 months and 30 days in 2017 before becoming the youngest player to score in the J.League Cup the following year when his strike helped the capital city club down Albirex Niigata 1-0.

His exploits in Japan once again earned him a ticket to Europe – this time to Real Madrid. Breaking into the star-studded Los Blancos squad was always going to be a tall ask, so the 18-year-old was sent out on loan to fellow La Liga side Real Mallorca where he was a standout performer during the 2019-20 campaign.