From Oregon to Oceania: Portland's Hina Sugita aims for World Cup domination

But Sugita wasn't always such a potent attacking threat. While she understood she had potential as a young midfielder in Japan, she knew she wouldn't be world-class without getting pushed outside of her comfort zone. The Portland Thorns, and the wider U. S. women's soccer program, became the key for Sugita to expand her game.

"I was aware before coming here that I needed to be more offensive individually," Sugita said. "Soccer is entirely a team sport in Japan...clean play and accurate play is considered beautiful. So I didn't have many opportunities to make mistakes. I couldn't really create a play where I had a 50-50 chance of success or failure; it felt like I wasn't allowed to."

But weeks of training with her Thorns teammates like Sophia Smith and Becky Sauerbrunn helped her break out of that mindset. "It made me want to try a more positive way of playing," Sugita said of her time in Portland. "It has removed the fears that I've had about the challenges I will face. I have come to a point where I can play in a way that will be challenging for the opposing team."

Japan has been the clear standout of the Women's World Cup thus far, winning all of its games, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one. That 'clean and accurate play' that Sugita cited has been Japan's calling card...but with her healthy dose of American-inspired offensive firepower, Sugita has become the team's secret weapon.

Sugita and Japan will face Sweden tonight in the World Cup quarterfinals. If Japan wins, it will advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2015.

"We will try to get the best results," Sugita said of the Japanese national team, known locally as the nadeshiko. "I hope that my play will resonate with both the people who are already playing soccer and those who have not started playing yet."