| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 January 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Ŭndŏk County, North Korea[1] | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ryomyong | ||
| Youth career | |||
| April 25 | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| April 25 | |||
| 2021– | Ryomyong | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | North Korea U16 | 3 | (5) |
| 2023– | North Korea U23 | 5 | (0) |
| 2023– | North Korea | 5 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:04, 1 February 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:22, 11 June 2024 (UTC) | |||
Ri Il-song (Korean: 리일성; born 14 January 2004) is a North Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ryomyong and the North Korea national team.
Career
Ri first rose to prominence after scoring two goals for the April 25 under-15 team in a 3–1 win over the South Korean Gangwon Province representative team.[3]
A fast-paced winger, he made his first mark on the international stage at qualification for the 2020 AFC U-16 Championship, scoring five goals in only three appearances, including a hat-trick in a resounding 16–0 win over Guam.[4][5]
Before the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea, Ri had planned to move to Spain to pursue a career in professional football. However, by the time English newspaper The Guardian had named him as one of the 60 best young players in the world in October 2021, Ri had not played football at all in over a year.[5][6]
In March 2024, the Japanese newspaper Choson Sinbo revealed that Ri had transfered to DPRK Premier League fellow Ryomyong.[7]
On 11 June 2024, he scored his first senior international goal for North Korea in a 4–1 victory over Myanmar, contributing to his nation's qualification to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification third round.[8]
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 June 2024 | New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos |  Myanmar |
1–0 | 4–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
References
- ^ Ri Il-song at Global Sports Archive
- ^ "RI Ilsong". info.hangzhou2022.cn. 19 September 2023. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ Kim, Chang-geum (29 October 2018). "쌀쌀한 날씨 녹인 남북 청소년 축구 열기" [The cold weather melts away the South and North Korean youth soccer fever]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "북한, U-16 아시아선수권 예선에서 괌 16-0 대파…해트트릭 3명" [North Korea defeated Guam 16-0 in U-16 Asian Championship qualifier... 3 hat tricks]. sportsseoul.com (in Korean). 18 September 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ a b Pérez, Jonás (12 October 2021). "La estrella de Corea del Norte" [The star of North Korea]. as.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Next Generation 2021: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "〈2026W杯アジア2次予選〉サッカー朝鮮代表メンバー". 朝鮮新報 (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "North Korea 4–1 Myanmar". ESPN. 11 June 2024.
This page was last edited on 15 June 2024, at 20:30