Ryo Miyaichi & Sota Nakajima Talk Soccer, Music and Playing to the Crowd
The star athlete and FANTASTICS member talk to Billboard Japan ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Black News 
This story is part of Billboard’s Global World Cup Series, a collection of 11 cover stories which pairs top soccer stars across the world competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with highly-touted musicians in accompanying countries.
Ryo Miyaichi signed with England’s Arsenal at 18, went on to gain experience at clubs across Europe and now plays for Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos. The 33-year-old footballer’s perseverance through repeated injuries, returning to the pitch time and again with the support of his fans, has captured the hearts of many.
FANTASTICS member Sota Nakajima has been watching Miyaichi play on television since elementary school. The 26-year-old member of the LDH boy band once aspired to become a footballer himself, but a medical circumstance forced him to let that dream go. He continued to excel at futsal, and he now puts his extensive knowledge to work as the host of a football program.
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While they excel in different areas, both share the ability to captivate audiences on the big stage. Meeting for the first time, the two hit it off immediately and spoke with Billboard Japan about the role music plays in sports and more.
Nakajima: I used to watch you a lot when you were playing abroad, so today still feels unreal to me. What got you into football in the first place?
Miyaichi: I actually started playing football during my elementary school days to build the leg strength I’d need for baseball but ended up becoming a footballer instead. I was selected for the U-17 national team in my second year of high school. Watching players my age like Neymar and [Granit] Xhaka at the World Cup made me want to compete on that same stage.
Nakajima: I was seriously pursuing football from elementary school too, but in my third year of junior high school, a doctor told me I couldn’t expose my eyes to UV light for long periods of time. I had to give up football and switched to futsal.
These days, during performances, I’m always thinking about positioning, lyrics, watching for any part of the crowd that isn’t fired up and figuring out how to bring them in. My experience playing central and offensive midfielder positions turns out to be useful there. (Laughs.) When I had to stop playing football, EXILE’s music carried me through.
Miyaichi: For me it was DREAMS COME TRUE’s “Nandodemo.” With so many injuries, rehab becomes this relentless grind of monotonous work and it’s hard to stay motivated. That line in the song, “maybe something will change on the 10,001st try,” got me through more tough moments than I can count. Making it back like this and then scoring a goal or seeing the team win — that’s when I know all that rehab was worth it. I came close to quitting after some of the serious injuries, but I’m so happy that I’m still playing football professionally.
Nakajima: I feel the same. Being able to work as an artist at LDH is something I’m deeply grateful for. I’ve looked up to EXILE since I was a student and they were always my goal. Who was your football hero?
Miyaichi: It has to be Cristiano Ronaldo. His time at Manchester United — I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing. He’d step over the ball again and again out of nowhere and I’d be like, how many stepovers can a man do? But that’s exactly what made him so cool. I copied everything, from how he wore his kit to his boots. Ronaldo was absolutely my role model.
Nakajima: What does a typical day look like for you?
Miyaichi: Team training starts at 10 in the morning, so I get to the training ground about an hour and a half early to prepare. We train from 10 to roughly noon, two hours at the most. After that I have lunch, do some gym work, get a massage, and I’m usually out of the training ground by around 3. Then I head home and wind down. I’ve been into Pilates lately, so I’ll go to a session occasionally. We push ourselves so hard in those training sessions that there’s nothing left in the tank. You can’t do much else after.
Nakajima: What do you usually do when you’re traveling?
Miyaichi: Listen to music, read, watch films. Everyone does their own thing. I also watch baseball and football. I’ve been keeping a close eye on Arsenal this season — they’re in good form, and I’m hoping they can go all the way.
Nakajima: I’m a big fan of Désiré Doué and Nuno Mendes, so I watch a lot of Paris Saint-Germain matches. You signed with Arsenal at 18. How do you see the recent wave of young Japanese players heading overseas?
Miyaichi: More players are going to Europe young these days, and I want them to do it at their own pace, without rushing. It’s easy to compare yourself to others, but what matters is focusing on your own growth. Back then, I didn’t really think of myself as young. There were so many world-class players around my age, and I was always feeling pressed. If I could go back and talk to my 15-year-younger self, I’d say, “What are you rushing for? You’re young.”
Nakajima: When [former Arsenal manager] Arsène Wenger spotted you in that training session, were you going in thinking, “I’m going to prove myself”?
Miyaichi: It was like stepping inside a game of Winning Eleven. My trial was right after the 2010 World Cup — Robin van Persie was there, Nicklas Bendtner, Alexandre Song. Players I’d only ever seen on TV were right there in front of me. The feeling that I’m actually jumping into this world hit me, and I loved every minute of it.
Billboard Japan: Now that you’ve gone from chasing dreams to being someone others look up to, what do you keep in mind?
Miyaichi: I think having fun is the most important thing. It’s what fuels your growth, and I grew up watching my seniors play with obvious joy, so I want to be an adult who still loves what he does. I still have the desire to keep improving and still feel the same way I always did. And it’s a profession that only exists because people show up to the stadium, so delivering an exciting match matters just as much. Showing people something that makes them think is cool on the pitch is what I’m there for. The day that’s no longer expected of me might be when I should consider retiring.
Nakajima: I want to be an artist like the sun. Turning negativity into positivity feels like what I was made to do, and as long as there are people willing to come along with me, I’ll keep singing.
Billboard Japan: For singers and artists, the profession is sustained by the people who engage with your work. How do you think about your relationship with supporters?
Miyaichi: Our fans and supporters are there for us every match — home, away, even following us overseas and everywhere in between. Every time I play, I carry the feeling that I need to perform well for them and bring them a result worth celebrating. Harsh words come with the territory, but I think criticism is part of what it means to be a professional footballer. A senior I respect once told me, “A plane can’t fly without a headwind, so criticism is necessary to keep flying.” That really hit home for me. When I’m criticized, that’s when I think, “This is my moment to rise.”
Billboard Japan: Maybe that clash of passionate feeling and the emotion it produces is why people around the world are so captivated by football.
Nakajima: Because you never know how things will turn out. Even the strongest teams lose sometimes, and a single play can be enough to make someone fall in love with the game. Watching football gets me really excited, and the way athletes dedicate their entire lives to their sport is just so cool.
Billboard Japan: Music is an indispensable form of entertainment too, one that pushes people forward and moves them deeply.
Nakajima: There are songs from decades ago that still give me a boost today. The beauty of music matters, of course, but there’s no single right answer in music, and being a technically accomplished singer isn’t the whole story either. The intention to reach someone is what matters, and that’s where I found the reason to keep singing. There are things that only I can deliver.
Billboard Japan: You probably play music during training and before matches. Would you say music is essential to sport?
Miyaichi: Absolutely. It genuinely saved me during rehab. At the Marinos gym, everyone puts their own music on, and you constantly hear things like, “Who’s the DJ today? I am not feeling this at all!” Before matches, especially in locker rooms abroad, the music is at a volume that almost makes you dizzy. But that’s where the intensity builds. Whoever wrote the Champions League anthem is awesome — one note of that and you’re ready for anything.
Nakajima: No matter when you hear it, it’s so uplifting.
