Sho Inagaki was born on 25 December 1991 in Tokyo. He came through Ventforet Kofu's youth ranks before signing with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in January 2017 and then Nagoya Grampus in January 2020. With Nagoya he won the J.League Cup in 2021 and 2024 — Nagoya's senior creative midfielder.
His Nagoya career has been remarkably productive in his early thirties. The 2023 season produced 31 J1 League matches with 3 goals and an assist, the 2024 season brought 36 league matches with 6 goals plus 8 J.League Cup appearances, and the 2025 season was outstanding with 38 J1 League matches, 11 goals and 5 assists — top scorer–level output for a central midfielder.
For Japan, Inagaki was a key part of the squad that won the EAFF E-1 Football Championship in 2025, scoring a goal in 3 tournament matches and contributing 3 goals plus an assist across 31 senior friendly appearances in the calendar year. He had previously won the EAFF E-1 in 2022.
A 176cm two-footed central midfielder with elite ball-carrying, vision and the goal-scoring instinct of a creator who arrives in the box, Inagaki is one of the J1 League's most-decorated central midfielders. He is in the senior 2026 FIFA World Cup squad picture as a J-League-based attacking midfielder option.