Players and Coaches Who Won at the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup 2026

The Only Team to Lift the Trophy Five Times

The news that our proud women footballers won the honoured first place at the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup 2026 is now enlivening worksites and villages across the country.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said as follows:

“Sportspeople who go to international competitions, win and fly the flag of the Republic are true patriots, heroes and wonderful people.”

Having lifted the trophy for the fifth time at the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup in 2007, 2015, 2017, 2024 and now 2026, the young women footballers who once again demonstrated the formidable strength and bright future of Korean women's football are indeed the joy and pride of the whole country.

This competition was held amid the attention of football experts not only from Asia but also from around the world.

It was because our team, which had firmly seized the Asian and world hegemony by winning all of the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup 2024, the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2024 and the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2025, took part in it. That is why some football experts commented that this Asian Cup competition is no different from a World Cup competition.

As the teams that placed in the top four of this competition would earn qualification for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2026, each team approached every match with great seriousness, and the games accordingly unfolded very fiercely.

Comrade Kim Song Ho, a deputy director of the Football Association of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, said as follows:

“This time, our team clearly showed that it was perfectly prepared mentally, physically, technically and morally.”

Our team won match after match from the group league stage. It defeated the opposing teams 10:0 in the first match, 8:0 in the second match and 3:0 in the third match, securing first place in the group.

The morale of our team rose further after concluding the quarter-final match at 6:0.

In all competitions, from the semi-finals onwards, it is a showdown between strong teams, and the match situation is completely different from before.

Around the 28th minute of the match, No. 10 Yu Jong Hyang scored the first goal, and around the 33rd minute, No. 9 Ri Kyong Im scored, giving our team a 2:0 lead. Amid a fierce offensive and defensive battle, the score was tied, but our players, without losing confidence, rallied. In the course of skilfully employing various match tactics, Yu Jong Hyang successfully scored in succession around the 65th and 75th minutes, enabling our team to defeat the opposing team 4:2 and advance to the final.

Our team also concluded the final match refreshingly.

The opposing team had played every match relatively smoothly, but in the match against our team, its spirit was completely broken.

Our players took the initiative from the start and mounted a powerful offensive, winning the honoured first place and thus becoming the only team to lift the trophy five times.

The sincerity of head coach Ji Yun Nam, coaches Kang Song Jin, Ra Un Sim and Kim Kwang Myong, researchers Kim Jun Hyok, Kim Hye Sun and Ri Chong Hui, who shared the joys and sorrows with the players through training days, the employees of the National Comprehensive Football Team including manager Kim Chol Man who devoted himself, forgetting sleep, lest there be even the slightest inconvenience in the training and life of the players, and officials of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, various provinces, central agencies and the Cabinet became steps and stepping stones leading towards the pedestal of victory.

The proud match results achieved by our reliable women footballers who once again demonstrated the honour of the fatherland to the whole world are giving great encouraging strength to all the people of the country.

Text: Staff Reporter Ji Hyok Chol

Photo: Staff Reporter Kim Kwang Rim

Player Yu Jong Hyang

Striker Yu Jong Hyang, following the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2025, was awarded the Best Player Award and the Top Scorer Award at this competition as well, repaying the expectations of the fatherland and people.

By fully displaying her skills this time, she scored 15 out of our team's 36 goals, and recorded hat-tricks in the first match of the group league stage, the semi-final and the final.

Player Kim Son Kyong

Kim Son Kyong, who contributed to our team lifting the trophy at this competition, was awarded the Best Goalkeeper Award.

Bearing in mind that the goal she guarded is the gateway of the fatherland, she made painstaking efforts to prepare herself physically and technically during the training days, and in this competition, she played a responsible role in every match up to the final.

Head Coach Ji Yun Nam

Merited Athlete Ji Yun Nam, who was appointed head coach of the national U-17 women's team early this year, generously devoted his wisdom and passion to raising the team's ability despite the short training period and lack of experience. Ji Yun Nam's persistent efforts to enhance the overall strength of the team in the shortest possible time, while also playing the role of the defence coach, led to the proud result of our team's victory.

Staff Reporter

The Korean Team's Victory Is Inevitable

The proud victory of our team, which once again seized the Asian hegemony at this competition, caused a great stir in football circles.

The numerous football experts and enthusiasts who had been watching our team from the first match of the group league stage unanimously said that the Korean team's victory was inevitable.

They lavished praise, saying that the united image of the Korean team players was seen in all matches, the Korean team always showed a confident appearance, all were superb scenes, and the Korean team really played the matches refreshingly.

A member of the Asian Football Confederation sincerely congratulated us, saying: “I think it is truly a natural result that all four awards of the competition—the Best Player Award, the Top Scorer Award, the Best Goalkeeper Award and the Fair Play Award—were awarded to the Korean team. We all are immensely happy and satisfied with the Korean team's victory.”

The AFC members and relevant support personnel who were on site for the organization of this competition also said that they felt from the beginning that the Korean team would win, and remarked: “Unlike other teams, the Korean team players are always orderly and polite. I think all this becomes a great factor in winning matches. The Korean women's football team conceded 5 goals to the Japanese team in the final, which had advanced without conceding a single goal. The image of no goals conceded that the Japanese team had maintained until the end was blurred at once. Indeed, the Korean team is different.” Truly, the match results achieved by our players this time serve as a feat that once again impressed the promising future of Korean women's football upon the world.

Staff Reporter