Ri Il-song

Ri Il-song (Korean: 리일성; born 14 January 2004) is a North Korean footballer who plays as a forward for April 25.

In this Korean name, the family name is Ri.
Ri Il-song
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-01-14) 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
 April 25
Youth career
April 25
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
April 25
International career‡
2019 North Korea U16 3 (5)
2023– North Korea U23 5 (0)
2023– North Korea 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:04, 1 February 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:00, 22 October 2023 (UTC)
Ri Il-song
Chosŏn'gŭl
Revised RomanizationRhee Ilseong
McCune–ReischauerRhee Ilsŏng

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-do 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 abroad 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]

References
  1. Ri Il-song at Global Sports Archive
  2. "RI Ilsong". info.hangzhou2022.cn. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  3. 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]. hani.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. "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.
  5. Pérez, Jonás (12 October 2021). "La estrella de Corea del Norte" [The star of North Korea]. as.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  6. "Next Generation 2021: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
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