FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Women's World Cup Australia and New Zealand - UEFA Qualifiers - Group G - Switzerland v Moldova - Stade de la Tuiliere, Lausanne, Switzerland - September 6, 2022 Switzerland coach Nils Nielsen before the match REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
(Reuters) - Nils Nielsen of Denmark has been appointed as the first foreign manager of Japan women's team, the Japan Football Association said on Thursday.
Nielsen replaces Futoshi Ikeda, who led former World Champions Japan to the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup last year as well as the last-eight of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 53-year-old Nielsen served as the director of football for Manchester City's women's team since May last year and was the manager of the Switzerland women's team from 2018 to 2022.
Nielsen coached the Denmark women's side from 2013 to 2017, having led them to a runners-up finish at the Women's European Championship in 2017.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)
