Rikako Kobayashi

Rikako Kobayashi (小林 里歌子, Kobayashi Rikako, born July 21, 1997) is a Japanese football player. She plays for Tokyo Verdy Beleza and Japan national team. Her brother Seigo Kobayashi is also footballer.

Rikako Kobayashi
小林 里歌子
Personal information
Full name Rikako Kobayashi
Date of birth (1997-07-21) July 21, 1997
Place of birth Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Number 11
Youth career
2013–2015 Tokiwagi Gakuen High School LSC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016– Tokyo Verdy Beleza 25 (22)
Total 25 (22)
International career‡
2014 Japan U-17 5 (2)
2019– Japan 16 (4)
Honours
Nippon TV Beleza
WinnerNadeshiko League2016
WinnerNadeshiko League2017
WinnerNadeshiko League2018
WinnerNadeshiko League Cup2016
WinnerNadeshiko League Cup2018
WinnerEmpress's Cup2017
WinnerEmpress's Cup2018
Representing  Japan
AFC U-19 Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place2015 China
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Gold medal – first place2014 Costa Rica
AFC U-16 Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place2013 China
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of end of 2018 season
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 17, 2019

Club career

Kobayashi was born in Hyogo Prefecture on July 21, 1997. She attended and played for Tokiwagi Gakuen High School, which competed in the second-division Challenge League. She led Tokiwagi Gakuen, the only high school competing in senior league competition at the time, to its first and only third-division Challenge League championship in 2015[1] as the league's top scorer[2] and most valuable player.[2] She also won the 2015 AFC young player of the year award.[3]

She joined L.League club Nippon TV Beleza in 2016.[4] However, she could not play in her first two seasons due to injury and debuted in the 2018 season.

National team career

In 2013, Kobayashi was selected Japan U-16 national team for 2013 AFC U-16 Championship. She scored 7 goals and became a top scorer. Japan team also won the championship. In 2014, Kobayashi was selected Japan U-17 national team for 2014 U-17 World Cup.[5] She played at 5 matches and scored 2 goals, and Japan won the championship.

In 2015, Kobayashi was selected Japan U-19 national team for 2015 AFC U-19 Championship. Japan won the championship and she was selected Best players award. Although Japan qualified for the 2016 U-20 World Cup, she was not selected Japan team for the tournament due to injury.

In February 2019, Kobayashi was selected Japan national team for SheBelieves Cup. At this tournament, on February 27, she debuted against United States.[6]

National team statistics

[7]

Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
2019124
202000
202120
202200
202320
Total164

International goals

.Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.3 March 2019Nissan Stadium, Nashville, United States Brazil2–13–12019 SheBelieves Cup
2.4 April 2019Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre, France France1–11–3Friendly
3.6 October 2019IAI Stadium Nihondaira, Shizuoka, Japan Canada4–04–0Friendly
4.11 December 2019Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea Chinese Taipei3–09–02019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship

References
  1. "順位" [Table]. Archived from the original on 10 November 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. "[なでしこ]なでしこL1部MVPは阪口が初受賞!ベストイレブンには優勝した日テレから7人" [(Nadeshiko) Sakaguchi wins Nadeshiko L1 division MVP for the first time! Seven people from Nippon Television who won the best eleven]. Web Gekisaka (in Japanese). 10 November 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  3. "日本勢は7部門で受賞…AFC年間表彰、最優秀ユースプレーヤーに小林里歌子" [Japanese team wins in 7 divisions…AFC Annual Award, Best Youth Player Rikako Kobayashi]. Web Gekisaka (in Japanese). 30 November 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  4. Nippon TV Beleza(in Japanese)
  5. FIFA
  6. Japan Football Association
  7. List of match in 2019 at Japan Football Association (in Japanese)


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