Former FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Homare Sawa said Tuesday she is expecting her first child in January.

"I've been blessed with a new life," Sawa, 37, said through a statement released by her management firm. "It's been the heartfelt desire of my husband and I all along."

The Nadeshiko Japan legend retired after last season. The 2011 Women's World Cup MVP and top scorer married former Vegalta Sendai player Hiroaki Tsujikami last August.