Manaka Matsukubo is in the midst of her breakout moment in the NWSL.

The North Carolina Courage’s young magician ended the first half of the regular season with goal contributions in five consecutive matches, scoring four goals and adding three assists in that span. She is the second-youngest NWSL player to accomplish that feat, with only Washington Spirit and United States Women’s National Team forward Trinity Rodman doing so at a younger age.

“She’s a special player. If you want to be entertained, you watch someone like Manaka with the ball at her feet and she’ll make you fall in love with the game,” Courage assistant coach Emma Thomson said.

Kickstarting her recent run of form with a brace against Chicago and a goal and an assist in San Diego the following week, Manaka is the youngest player in NWSL history with multiple goal contributions in back-to-back weeks.

She’s just the fifth player to achieve that feat in a Courage jersey, inking her name alongside some elite company, including Lynn Biyendolo, Debinha, Kerolin Nicoli, and Diana Ordóñez.

“She’s playing with a smile on her face. The two go hand in hand. A confident player is a happy player, and a happy player is a confident player. Whatever is going on, it’s working. We love to see happy players, especially Manaka, because she is such a bright spark. She’s a funny, goofy player off the field and I know her teammates love her,” Thomson said.

For Manaka, confidence and comfort come from being able to communicate with her teammates better than in previous years.

“When I came here the first year, my English was so bad. I couldn’t speak to my teammates and tell them what I wanted to do on the field. My English is getting better now, I can talk to everyone, and I can understand what they want to do. It is a lot easier to communicate. It’s been great for me,” Manaka said.

The variety of Manaka’s goals this season, two of which earned nominations for NWSL Goal of the Week, has added to the impressiveness of her recent form. From a toe-poke in traffic and a far-post curler to a driving run and a delicate chip, Manaka is showing that she can score in all different situations.

While the goals have been special, her assist to Cortnee Vine against Angel City may have been her most impressive goal contribution. It’s a ball that had to be perfect to find its target.

“It’s a left-footed ball, inch-perfect to someone on the move, between the backline and the goalkeeper. It’s incredibly hard to do. Cortnee timed it well to get into the box. We see it in training with Manaka. She’s inch-perfect a lot of the time, and if she’s not, she’ll get the ball and she’ll try it again and again,” Thomson said.

Manaka kept the creativity flowing the following week, delivering another defense-splitting cross to Hannah Betfort to complete the comeback win over the Houston Dash. Betfort, speaking about how the Courage’s system allows individual qualities to shine in big moments, summed up Manaka’s recent performance perfectly.

“With the system and the technicality that it provides, those moments of build-up are such a team effort for every single one of them, then the individual quality of the finish shines. I mean, you’ve seen some of Manaka’s finishes that are just disrespectful. Getting into the final third is so simple for us because of how we play and then how we finish that off has looked very different for each person that’s been in that position, and that’s really special,” Betfort said.

Fluidity between the front three is a hallmark of the Sean Nahas system, but Manaka’s tactical flexibility in the attack has also been on display during her recent run of form. Against both Chicago and San Diego, Manaka started as the No. 9, while she dropped back to the No. 10 behind Cortnee Vine in the last three matches.

“Her versatility is such a valuable piece that we can use. Regardless of the opposition, we can find a spot that will bring out her best assets and improve the playing relationships with the other players around her. If she is in the No. 9, she can drop in and receive, but she can still get behind. If she is in the No. 10, she’s continuing to make those runs in behind, but she’s finding different pockets of space to unlock the opposition defense. It’s not just the attacking side; she’s incredibly consistent defensively. She works hard and is relentless in pressing actions,” Thomson said.

The NWSL isn’t the only place Manaka has shone recently. Last Fall, Manaka was awarded the Silver Ball at the U-20 World Cup, leading Japan to the final, and earlier this year, she made her senior national team debut during the SheBelieves Cup. Since then, Manaka has been a regular name on the senior roster in 2025.

While the opportunity at the SheBelieves Cup was a great opportunity for Manaka to take that next step in her career, seeing the competitive level of the senior national team has also served as motivation for Manaka to continue to push herself.

“The training at the senior level is very different. The passing speed, physicality, and tactical work are very different. The SheBelieves Cup, we won the championship, but I felt like I had to improve on everything. It was a great moment for me, but to be at that level, I have to do more,” Manaka said.

This year, Manaka has been joined on the Courage by another star of the Japan youth setup: Shinomi Koyama. The pair are best friends and have played together in the Japan Youth National Teams from U-13 through U-20, including the 2024 U-20 FIFA World Cup shortly before Shinomi joined the Courage. That familiarity between the two has made playing together in N.C. easy, with the two linking up for Manaka’s second goal against Chicago.

“On the pitch, we don’t talk. We make eye contact and then know what each other wants to do,” Manaka said.

Manaka has been a difference maker for the North Carolina Courage from practically the first moment she stepped off the plane from Japan in 2023. The Courage announced Manaka’s loan deal on July 27, 2023, and just 44 days later, the then-19-year-old was crowned the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup Final MVP as the Courage lifted the trophy for the second consecutive year.

The trophy, stellar strike to seal the win, and endearing “I’m so happy” in the live interview following the match made the forward an instant fan favorite in Courage Country. While she won a trophy so early in her tenure, Manaka is ready to lift more.

“That was a great moment, but I want to be a champion again,” Manaka said.

Despite all she’s done already, the best is still to come for the Courage’s young magician.