Yuya Kubo

Kyoto Sanga

In 2009, at the age of fifteen, he joined the U-18 team of Kyoto Sanga and at 16 he was temporarily registered with the first team before returning to the youth squad for the J.League Youth Championship, leading the "Golden Generation" of Kyoto Sanga Youth to the semifinals. In 2011, he was officially promoted to the first team. and made his J2 League debut, scoring in his first start. By the end of the season, he had scored 10 goals in 30 league matches, becoming the team’s top scorer at just 17 years old. On 29 December, in the Emperor’s Cup semi-final against Yokohama F. Marinos, Kubo came off the bench and scored a crucial goal in extra time to break the 2–2 deadlock. He would also provide an assist in the game, helping to secure his team’s spot in the final with a 4–2 victory. He scored in the final against FC Tokyo, coming off the bench as he did in the semi-final. His goal was in vain this time however, as FC Tokyo won the match 4–2. During the 2013 season, he scored his first professional hat-trick.

BSC Young Boys

2013–14

On 18 June 2013, Kyoto Sanga announced Kubo's transfer to Swiss club BSC Young Boys. He made his Swiss Super League debut on 13 July playing 15 minutes in a 2–0 win against FC Sion at the season opener. In his third match on 28 July, he scored two goals and made one assist coming off the bench against FC Thun in a 3–2 win, and continued to impress with another goal in the fourth match. Although he started…

Kubo has been involved in the Japan National Team from U-16 to U-23 level. He received his first call up to the senior team for the Kirin Challenge Cup, a friendly match against Iceland in February 2012, however he did not feature during the 90 minutes. On 11 November 2016, he made his full international debut for Japan against Oman in the Kirin Challenge Cup 2016. On 23 March 2017, he scored one goal and gave one assist in 0–2 win over UAE in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. It was his first goal in his third game for Japan. On 28 March 2017, he scored one goal and added two assists in a 4–0 victory over Thailand in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.

A versatile player, Kubo has been deployed as a forward, namely as a second striker, but has also appeared as a defensive midfielder and as a winger. Described as very comfortable on the ball, Kubo has also been known for his work rate and ability to manoeuvre though tight spaces.

Born into a family of martial artists, Kubo began playing soccer at the age of five and initially started playing as a defender in elementary school, switching to forward in junior high school. In his second year, he was recruited by Kyoto Sanga to join their youth academy. In his third year of junior high, he participated in the National Junior High School Soccer Tournament and represented Yamaguchi Prefecture in the National Sports Festival.