Minato Yoshida

Minato Yoshida
吉田湊海
Personal information
Date of birth	15 July 2008
Place of birth	Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position	Forward
Team information
Current team	Kashima Antlers
Number	40
Youth career
	FC Tama
	Kashima Antlers
Senior career*
Years	Team
2025–	Kashima Antlers
International career‡
2023	Japan U15
2024	Japan U16
2024–	Japan U17
	* Club domestic league appearances and goals; ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 November 2025

Minato Yoshida (吉田湊海, Yoshida Minato; born 15 July 2008) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Kashima Antlers.

Early life

Yoshida was born on 15 July 2008 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Growing up, he played as a midfielder before switching to forward in middle school.^[1]

As a youth player, Yoshida joined the youth academy of FC Tama. Following his stint there, he joined the youth academy of Kashima Antlers, helping the club's under-18 team win the 2025 Japan Club Youth U-18 Football Championship^[2] and was promoted to the club's senior team in 2025.

Yoshida is a Japan youth international. During November 2025, he played for the Japan national under-17 football team at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup.^[3]

^ "Minato Yoshida: Kashima's Mbappé has fulfilled almost all his goals this year". Transfermarkt. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
^ "FW吉田湊海(鹿島ユース)がU-17W杯で直面した世界基準「久しぶりにびっくりしたなと…」この衝撃を胸に高校3冠"完全制覇"へ" [Forward Minato Yoshida (Kashima Youth) faced world-class standards at the U-17 World Cup: "I was really surprised for the first time in a long time..." He will carry this experience with him as he aims for a complete sweep of all three high school championships] (in Japanese). Gekisaka. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
^ Minato Yoshida at WorldFootball.net