Zion Suzuki
Suzuki with Japan in 2024
Personal information
Full name Zion Suzuki[1]
Date of birth (2002-08-21) 21 August 2002 (age 21)
Place of birth Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Sint-Truiden
(on loan from Urawa Reds)
Number 1
Youth career
2009–2020 Urawa Reds
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Urawa Reds 8 (0)
2023– → Sint-Truiden (loan) 16 (0)
International career‡
2016–2017 Japan U15 7 (0)
2017 Japan U16 2 (0)
2017–2019 Japan U17 9 (0)
2018 Japan U18 1 (0)
2021– Japan U23 1 (0)
2022– Japan 6 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Japan
EAFF Championship
Winner 2022 Japan Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 January 2024 (UTC)

Zion Suzuki (鈴木 彩艶, Suzuki Zion, born 21 August 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truiden, on loan from J1 League club Urawa Reds. Born in the United States, he represents the Japan national team.

Early life

Suzuki was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, to a Ghanaian American father and a Japanese mother.[3][4] His family later moved to Japan, settling in Urawa, Saitama, where Suzuki was raised.[5]

Club career

Suzuki's professional career began with the Urawa Reds when he was 16 years and five months old, making him the youngest player in the history of the club to sign a professional contract. His first appearance in the J1 League came in May 2021 in a match against Vegalta Sendai.[4]

International career

Suzuki has represented Japan at multiple levels in youth football. On 19 July 2022, he earned his first cap with the senior Japan national team, playing the full match against Hong Kong in the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, which they won with a score of 6–0.[6] He played in opening match in 4-2 win against Vietnam in 2023 AFC Asian Cup. He also played in the 1-2 defeat to Iraq of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, where he logged 1 save.

Career statistics

Club

As of 7 October 2023[7]
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Urawa Reds 2021 J1 League 6 0 0 0 9[a] 0 0 0 15 0
2022 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 8 0
2023 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 6 0
Total 8 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 29 0
Sint-Truiden (loan) 2023–24 Belgian Pro League 16 0 0 0 — — 16 0
Career total 14 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 45 0
  1. ^ Appearances in the J.League Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[8]
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2022 1 0
2023 2 0
2024 2 0
Total 5 0

Honours

Urawa Red Diamonds

Japan

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Japan" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Zion Suzuki – Player Profile – Football". Japan Football Association.
  3. ^ "Profile of Zion Suzuki" (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b 日本放送協会. "鈴木彩艶のプロフィール｜サッカー｜東京オリンピックパラリンピック". www3.nhk.or.jp. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  5. ^ "浦和ＧＫ鈴木彩艶、シントトロイデン移籍を発表「世界で闘ってきます」マンＵの獲得打診断り決断". Hochi Shimbun. 6 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Japan – Z. Suzuki – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  7. ^ Zion Suzuki at Soccerway
  8. ^ Zion Suzuki at National-Football-Teams.com Edit this at Wikidata
  9. ^ "Urawa Reds edge Al Hilal for historic third title". AFC. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  10. ^ Orlowitz, Dan (6 May 2023). "Urawa beats Al Hilal to capture third Asian Champions League title". The Japan Times. Retrieved 6 May 2023.

External links

Sint-Truidense V.V. – current squad
JPFA Best XI (GK)
Japan squads
Categories