Yu Jong-hyang
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 August 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | North Korea | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Naegohyang Sports Club | ||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | North Korea U15 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | North Korea U17 | 6 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10:59, 21 November 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Yu Jong-hyang (Korean: 유정향; born 18 August 2009) is a North Korean footballer who plays as a forward for Naegohyang Sports Club. She won both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot at the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup after finishing as the tournament's top scorer with eight goals.
Early life
Yu Jong-hyang was born in North Korea on 18 August 2009.[1] Her first documented international appearance came at the 2024 EAFF U-15 Women's Championship in Dalian, China, where she scored twice in a 4–0 win over Chinese Taipei.[2]
International career
North Korea U17
Yu was promoted to the under-17 side for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco.
On 24 October 2025, she scored twice in a 5–0 group stage win over the Netherlands.[3] Four days later, on 28 October, she added two goals in a 6–1 round of 16 victory over Morocco.[4] She scored both goals in North Korea's semi-final win over Brazil on 5 November.[5] Yu started the final played against the Netherlands on 8 November, which ended in a 3–0 win for North Korea, as they clinched their fourth under-17 world title.[6]
Yu's eight goals secured the Adidas Golden Boot, while coaches and media voted her the tournament's best player.[7][8]
Honours
North Korea U17
Individual
References
- ^ "Jong Hyang Yu » Profile - worldfootball.net". worldfootball.net. 9 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "EAFF U15 Women's Championship 2024". East Asian Football Federation. EAFF. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "Netherlands 0-5 North Korea (24 Oct, 2025) Final Score – ESPN (UK)". ESPN. ESPN. 24 October 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "North Korea 6-1 Morocco (28 Oct, 2025) Final Score – ESPN (UK)". ESPN. ESPN. 28 October 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "Mundial Sub-17 Feminino: Brasil luta, mas perde para Coreia do Norte". Agência Brasil. Empresa Brasil de Comunicação. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "North Korea 3-0 Netherlands (8 Nov, 2025) Final Score – ESPN". ESPN. ESPN. 8 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "North Korea defeats Netherlands to win Under-17 Women's World Cup". Korea JoongAng Daily. JoongAng Ilbo. 9 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "DPRK Team Wins 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup". Naenara. Foreign Languages Publishing House. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ^ "Korea DPR down Dutch to claim another crown". fifa.com. 8 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ a b "The Morocco 2025 award winners". fifa.com. 8 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.