Hidemasa Morita

Hidemasa Morita
守田 英正
Morita with Japan in 2017
Personal information
Full name Hidemasa Morita[1]
Date of birth (1995-05-10) 10 May 1995
Place of birth Takatsuki, Japan
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Hull City
Number 5
Youth career
–2007 Takatsuki Shimizu
2008–2010 Takatsuki Daikyu Junior High School
2011–2013 Konko Osaka High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 Ryutsu Keizai University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 Kawasaki Frontale 81 (1)
2021–2022 Santa Clara 48 (3)
2022–2026 Sporting CP 112 (11)
2026– Hull City 0 (0)
International career‡
2018– Japan 40 (6)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:50, 24 July 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16:21, 20 March 2025 (UTC)

Hidemasa Morita (守田 英正, Morita Hidemasa; born 10 May 1995) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Hull City and the Japan national team.

Club career

Kawasaki Frontale

In 2018, Morita joined Kawasaki Frontale. On 10 February, he made his professional debut as a substitute in the Japanese Super Cup against Cerezo Osaka. On 14 April, he made his first start in the league match against Vegalta Sendai.[3] After that, he managed to secure an active role in the team, and they would go on to win the J1 League title in 2018. In 2020, he was selected in the J-League Best Eleven,[4] along with eight other Kawasaki players, as they went on to win the J1 League title again.

Santa Clara

On 8 January 2021, it was announced that Morita would sign for Portuguese club Santa Clara in the Primeira Liga.[5] When he made his debut on 25 January, he netted his first goal for the club, scoring the winner in the 89th minute of a 2–1 victory over Rio Ave.[6]

Sporting CP

On 1 July 2022, it was announced that he would join Sporting CP on a permanent transfer.[7] He would go on to make his debut for the club against Braga on 7 August.[8] On 7 September, he made his Champions League debut against Eintracht Frankfurt.[9] On 30 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a win against Gil Vicente.[10]

Morita made his 150th appearance for the club on 4 March 2026, in a 1–0 home win against Porto in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup.[11]

On 15 May 2026, Morita announced he would not be renewing his contract with Sporting CP for the 2026–27 season.[12]

Hull City

On 24 July 2026, Morita joined Hull City on a two-year contract with the club holding an option for a further year.[13]

International career

On 2 September 2018, Ryota Oshima and Hotaru Yamaguchi withdrew from the national team due to injury; Morita was called up to the Japan national team in their place for the first time in his first year as a professional.[14] He made his national team debut on 11 September, coming on against Costa Rica, the first game under new coach Hajime Moriyasu.

In January 2019, he was called up to the Japan national team for the AFC Asian Cup 2019, but withdrew due to injury.[15]

In March 2021, he was called up to the national team for the first time in just under two years; on 30 March, he scored his first goal for the national team in a 14–0 win against Mongolia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.[16]

On 1 November 2022, Morita was named in the Japan squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 August 2026[18][19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kawasaki Frontale 2018 J1 League 26040005[c]01[d]0360
2019 J1 League 23020414[c]01[d]0341
2020 J1 League 3212040——381
Total 811808190201082
Santa Clara 2020–21 Primeira Liga 2021000——212
2021–22 Primeira Liga 28110306[e]1—382
Total 483203061—594
Sporting CP 2022–23 Primeira Liga 29610209[f]0—416
2023–24 Primeira Liga 29240007[g]0—402
2024–25 Primeira Liga 23220207[h]01[i]0352
2025–26 Primeira Liga 311502011[h]01[i]0501
Total 11211120603402016611
Hull City 2026–27 Premier League 000010——10
Career total 241152201814914033417
  1. ↑ Includes Emperor's Cup, Taça de Portugal, FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes J.League Cup, Taça da Liga, EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 Appearances in AFC Champions League
  4. 1 2 Appearance in Japanese Super Cup
  5. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  6. ↑ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  7. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  8. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  9. 1 2 Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

International

As of match played 20 March 2025[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Japan 201820
201910
202000
202192
202280
202380
2024114
202510
Total406
As of match played 15 November 2024. Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Morita goal.
List of international goals scored by Hidemasa Morita[20]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
130 March 2021Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba, Japan Mongolia4–014–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
228 May 2021Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba, Japan Myanmar6–010–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
33 February 2024Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar Iran1–01–22023 AFC Asian Cup
410 September 2024Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain Bahrain3–05–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
54–0
615 November 2024Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia Indonesia3–04–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Kawasaki Frontale

Sporting CP

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Japan (JPN)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 16. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Hidemasa Morita". Sporting CP. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "川崎F、家長ポスト2本など決め切れずスコアレス…仙台はJデビューの青森山田出身DF常田が完封貢献". ゲキサカ (in Japanese). 14 April 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "[J.League Awards] Michael Olunga (Kashiwa Reysol) crowns the MVP to be the eighth top scoring player to double. Kawasaki Frontale produce nine members in the Best Eleven Players | News". J.LEAGUE. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  5. ↑ AcoresPRO.com, André Amaral-. "Clube Desportivo Santa Clara » Oficial- Hidemasa Morita" (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Hidemasa Morita nets winner in debut for Santa Clara". The Japan Times. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Morita joins Sporting CP". sporting.pt. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "Draw against SC Braga opens 2022/23 season". sporting.pt. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "Soccer: Morita assists opener as Sporting stun Kamada's Frankfurt". nippon.com. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "Soccer: Morita nets 1st goal for Sporting in win over Gil Vicente". nippon.com. 1 October 2022. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "Morita: «Orgulho por ter disputado 150 jogos com este grande símbolo»". Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Morita despede-se do Sporting: "Jamais vestirei a camisola de outro clube em Portugal"". www.cmjornal.pt (in Portuguese). 15 May 2026. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Morita signs for Hull City". Hull City A.F.C. 24 July 2026. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "森保J初陣、山口蛍と大島僚太が不参加…代わって2選手を初招集へ". ゲキサカ (in Japanese). 2 September 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "Takashi Inui, Tsukasa Shiotani named as injury replacements for Japan's Asian Cup squad". The Japan Times. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  16. ↑ AP (30 March 2021). "Japan routs Mongolia 14–0 in World Cup qualifying". business-standard.com. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  17. ↑ Duerden, Greg LeaContributions from John; published, Ryan Dabbs (23 November 2022). "Japan World Cup 2022 squad: Team announced for tournament in Qatar". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  18. ↑ Hidemasa Morita at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
  19. ↑ Hidemasa Morita at Soccerway
  20. 1 2 "Hidemasa Morita". National Football Teams.