Asako Takakura will manage the women's national soccer team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after receiving the backing of the sport's governing body on Monday.

According to sources, Takakura gained the endorsement at a meeting of the Japan Football Association's Women's Committee in Tokyo.

A former Japan international midfielder, Takakura steered Nadeshiko Japan to the round of 16 at this year's Women's World Cup in France.

The Fukushima Prefecture native took the reins of the national team in 2016. She led Japan to the Asian Cup trophy in 2018, but the World Cup result was considered a letdown for a side that had reached the final of the previous tournament and won the title eight years earlier.

Nadeshiko Japan earned the silver medal at the 2012 London Games.