Rikako Kobayashi
小林 里歌子
Kobayashi with the North Carolina Courage in 2023
Personal information
Full name Rikako Kobayashi
Date of birth (1997-07-21) 21 July 1997
Place of birth Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 North Carolina Courage
Youth career
2013–2015 Tokiwagi Gakuen High School LSC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2023 Tokyo Verdy Beleza 72 (36)
2023– North Carolina Courage 0 (0)
Total 25 (22)
International career‡
2014 Japan U-17 5 (2)
2019– Japan 16 (4)
Medal record
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 July 17, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 17, 2019

Rikako Kobayashi (小林 里歌子, Kobayashi Rikako, born 21 July 1997) is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a midfielder for American club North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), and for the Japan national team. She is the sister of footballer Seigo Kobayashi.

Club career

Kobayashi was born in Hyogo Prefecture on 21 July 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 Tokyo Verdy Beleza in 2016.[4] However, she could not play in her first two seasons due to injury and debuted in the 2018 season.

On 17 July 2023, North Carolina Courage of the American National Women's Soccer League announced their signing of Kobayashi to a two-year contract through the 2024 NWSL season, with an option for an additional year.[5][6]

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.[7] 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 to the Japan team for the tournament due to injury.

In February 2019, Kobayashi was selected Japan national team for SheBelieves Cup. At this tournament, on 27 February, she debuted against United States.[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 June 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental[lower-alpha 3] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Nippon TV Beleza 2016 Nadeshiko League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2017 Nadeshiko League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2018 Nadeshiko League 15 3 5 1 9 1 — 29 5
2019 Nadeshiko League 16 11 5 5 2 0 2 1 23 16
2020 Nadeshiko League 14 13 5 6 — — 19 19
2021–22 WE League 9 3 2 1 — — 11 4
2022–23 WE League 18 6 4 2 0 0 — 22 8
Total 72 36 21 15 11 1 2 1 106 53
North Carolina Courage 2023 NWSL 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0
Career Total 72 36 21 15 11 1 2 1 106 53

International

As of match played 23 February 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team YearAppsGoals
Japan 2019124
202000
202120
202200
202320
Total164
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kobayashi goal.
List of international goals scored by Rikako Kobayashi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 3 March 2019 Nissan Stadium, Nashville, United States  Brazil 2–1 3–1 2019 SheBelieves Cup
2. 4 April 2019 Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre, France  France 1–1 1–3 Friendly
3. 6 October 2019 IAI Stadium Nihondaira, Shizuoka, Japan  Canada 4–0 4–0 Friendly
4. 11 December 2019 Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea  Chinese Taipei 3–0 9–0 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship

Honours

Tokyo Verdy Beleza

Individual

  • WE League Outstanding Players Award: 2022–23

References

  1. ↑ "順位" [Table]. Archived from the original on 10 November 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. 1 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. ↑ "小林里歌子選手新加入のお知らせ" [Report of new player Rikako Kobayashi] (Press release) (in Japanese). Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Courage sign Japanese midfielder Rikako Kobayashi" (Press release). North Carolina Courage. July 17, 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  6. ↑ "日テレ東京V小林里歌子、米ノースカロライナ・カレッジへ移籍「ベレーザという場で成長できた」" [Nippon TV Tokyo V. Rikako Kobayashi transferred to North Carolina Courage in the United States: "I was able to grow in Beleza"]. Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese). July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ "FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Costa Rica: Japan". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Fixtures/Results | 2019 SheBelieves Cup". Japan Football Association. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
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