| Kodai Sano | |
| Full Name: | Kodai Sano[1] |
| Birth Date: | 25 September 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Tsuyama, Okayama, Japan |
| Height: | 1.76 m |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | NEC Nijmegen |
| Clubnumber: | 23 |
| Youthyears1: | –2018 |
| Youthclubs1: | FC Viparte |
| Youthyears2: | 2019–2021 |
| Youthclubs2: | Yonago Kita High School |
| Years1: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs1: | Fagiano Okayama |
| Caps1: | 50 |
| Goals1: | 5 |
| Years2: | 2023– |
| Clubs2: | NEC Nijmegen |
| Caps2: | 26 |
| Goals2: | 6 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2023– |
| Nationalteam1: | Japan U20 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 11 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 2 |
| Club-Update: | 23:00, 10 August 2024 (WIB) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 27 May 2023 |
is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen.
A graduate of the,[2] [3] Sano signed his first professional contract with J2 League side Fagiano Okayama in October 2021.[4]
He made his professional debut for the club during the 2022 season, scoring three goals in 28 league matches.
On 14 August 2023, Fagiano Okayama announced that they reached an agreement with Dutch side NEC Nijmegen for the transfer of Sano on a permanent deal;[5] the deal was made official three days later, as the player signed a five-year contract with the Eredivisie club.[6] [7] In the process, Sano became NEC's second Japanese-born signing of the season, following Koki Ogawa.
He made his debut for the club on 16 September 2023, coming on as a substitute for Rober in the 59th minute of a 4–0 league loss to PSV.[8]
Sano has represented Japan at under-20 level, having taken part in both the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup and the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[9]
Sano is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer Kaishu Sano.[10]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Fagiano Okayama | 2022 | J2 League | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |||
| Total | 48 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 5 | |||
| NEC Nijmegen | Eredivisie | 25 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 6 | ||
| 2024–25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 74 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 12 | |||