Riko Ueki (植木 理子, Ueki Riko, born 30 July 1999) is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a striker for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the Japanese WE League and the Japan national team.
![]() Ueki in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Riko Ueki | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1999-07-30) 30 July 1999 (age 23) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2012–2015 | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016– | Tokyo Verdy Beleza | 79 | (27) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 79 | (27) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016 | Japan U-17 | 5 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2018 | Japan U-20 | 6 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019– | Japan | 15 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 17, 2019 |
Ueki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on 30 July 1999. She started playing football in 2011, the year Nadeshiko Japan won the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in a dramatic victory over the United States.[1] In fact, she started playing a few months before they won the World Cup, but when she shared this with Saki Kumagai (current captain and member of the winning squad in 2011), Kumagai jokingly said to her "you should change it to say that you were inspired to start football after watching our victory, and ultimately made it to the national team yourself. It'll make for a better story!"[2]
From the day she first started football, Ueki has always played as a forward and has never played in any other position throughout her career so far. She has said in multiple interviews that her role model since she was young is fellow Japanese forward Mana Iwabuchi, and she achieved one of her goals during the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup when she was selected to pair alongside Iwabuchi for the first time as the two starting strikers in Japan's semi-final against China.[3][4]
Ueki attended Waseda University, one of the most selective and prestigious universities in Japan, majoring in sports science.[5] While at college she took courses in sports management and marketing as well, declaring that "after I've retired from playing, I want to work to spread women's football and I am studying so that I have as many options as I can to do so." After a gruelling few years juggling classes in the day and practices with the club team in evenings, she successfully graduated in March 2022.[6]
She joined Nadeshiko League club Tokyo Verdy Beleza from the youth team in 2015, and was first called up to the senior team in June 2016. She marked her debut with a goal as a substitute in a League Cup match against Speranza Osaka.[7] As of August 2022, she has scored 50 goals in 119 appearances in all competitions for Beleza.[8] In the inaugural 2021–22 WE League season, Ueki was chosen amongst the recipients of the Most Outstanding Players award.[9]
In 2016, Ueki was selected to the Japan U-17 national team for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[10] She played in 6 matches and scored 4 goals, and Japan finished as runners-up in the tournament.
In 2018, Ueki was selected to the Japan U-20 national team for 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[11] She played in all 6 matches and scored 5 goals, including a crucial goal in the their semi-final victory over England[12] and helped Japan win the title.[13]
On 4 April 2019, Ueki debuted for the senior Japan national team against France.[14] Later that year, Ueki was named to Japan's squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup; however, she was forced to withdraw due to injury on 31 May.[15][16]
2022 proved to be a true breakout year for Ueki with the national team, as she began to establish herself as a starting striker and finished the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup as Japan's top scorer with five goals, and joint second-highest goalscorer of the tournament as a whole.[17]
Japan national team | ||
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Year | Apps | Goals |
2019 | 3 | 0 |
2020 | 2 | 0 |
2021 | 1 | 0 |
2022 | 9 | 7 |
Total | 16 | 8 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1. | 21 January 2022 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India | ![]() | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup |
2. | 27 January 2022 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–1 | ||
3. | 30 January 2022 | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, India | ![]() | 5–0 | 7–0 | |
4. | 3 February 2022 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p) | |
5. | 2–1 | |||||
6. | 24 June 2022 | Sport Center FAS, Stara Pazova, Serbia | ![]() | 1–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
7. | 27 June 2022 | Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland | ![]() | 4–1 | 5–1 | |
8. | 9 October 2022 | Nagano U Stadium, Nagano, Japan | ![]() | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
One of Ueki's main hobbies is reading manga, also known as Japanese comics or graphic novels, and she revealed that she has a collection of over 1000 copies of such books at home.[19] She was even invited to make a cameo appearance in a television drama adaptation of the manga series Shiyakusho that aired on TV Tokyo from October to December 2019.[20]
Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Japan U19
Japan
Individual
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Nippon TV Beleza – current squad | |
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Japan squad – 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup semi-finalists | ||
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