Ji So-yun

Ji started her career in Japan, playing for Nadeshiko League champions INAC Kobe Leonessa between 2011 and 2013. In November 2013, Ji was subject to a transfer bid from English club Chelsea.^[3] She agreed to a two-year contract in January 2014.^[4] When the transfer was officially confirmed later that month, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said of Ji: "She is one of the best midfielders in the world and our fans will love her."^[5] In one of her final matches for the Japanese club, Ji scored against her soon-to-be new club, Chelsea, in the International Women's Club Championship final.^[6]

Ji was named Players' Player of the Year after her first season in England, as Chelsea narrowly missed out on the FA WSL 1 title on the last day of the season.^[7] She was named PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year in April 2015 and was also named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year.^[8][9]

In the 2015 FA Women's Cup final, staged at Wembley Stadium for the first time, Ji scored the only goal of the match to win the cup for Chelsea.^[10] In October 2015 she also scored in Chelsea's 4–0 win over Sunderland which secured the club's first FA WSL 1 title and a league and cup double.^[11]

Ji made her 100th appearance for Chelsea in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal on 1 April 2018 in the middle of the 2017–18 season.^[12] She once again contributed to her club's double,^[13] as well as advance to the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League in that season.^[14]

On 29 August 2020, Ji led Chelsea to a 2–0 win over Manchester City by performing the role of the key playmaker in the Women's FA Community Shield, held for the first time since 2008.^[15] She was named the Player of the Match by BBC, which broadcast the match.^[16] At the end of 2020, she was on the list of eleven nominees for The Best FIFA Women's Player award alongside her teammates Pernille Harder and Sam Kerr.^[17] In the light of her performances for Chelsea over the years and the instrumental role she played in Chelsea's 2020–21 FA WSL winning team, Suzanne Wrack of The Guardian claimed that Ji was the best foreign player in the history of WSL.^[18] Chelsea won all domestic cups in addition to the league title during the season, achieving a quadruple.^[19]

After spending eight years with Chelsea, Ji left the club following the 2021–22 season. She made over 200 appearances and scored 68 goals in all competitions, and won six league titles, four FA Cups, two league cups, and one Community Shield.^[20]

On 24 May 2022, Ji returned to her homeland and joined WK League side Suwon FC, her first spell with a South Korean club.^[21] On her WK League debut on 18 August 2022, she scored a brace in a 3–0 victory against Boeun Sangmu.^[22] She had helped Suwon advance to the final at the 2023 WK League, and scored two goals in a 3–1 first leg win over Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels.^[23] Despite her effort, her club lost 7–5 on aggregate after the second leg.

On 24 January 2024, the National Women's Soccer League club Seattle Reign FC announced that they had signed Ji on a two-year contract through the 2025 season.^[24]

Ji represented South Korea at senior level before appearing at youth level. In October 2006, she made her senior team debut while playing at the 2006 Peace Queen Cup. On 30 November 2006, she became the youngest goalscorer (15 years, 282 days) for the South Korean senior team after scoring two goals against Chinese Taipei at the 2006 Asian Games.^[25][2]

Ji played for the South Korea under-17s at the 2007 AFC U-16 Women's Championship and the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. She scored two goals in four matches at the U-17 World Cup.^[26]

Ji participated in the 2009 Summer Universiade when attending Hanyang Women's University. She won a gold medal and the Most Valuable Player award at the tournament.^[27][28]

While Ji was part of the national under-20 team, South Korea finished second at the 2009 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and third at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.^[25] She showed her goal scoring ability at both tournaments, becoming the top goalscorer at the AFC U-19 Championship and the second top goalscorer at the U-20 World Cup, ultimately winning the Silver Ball and the Silver Shoe awards at the U-20 World Cup.^[28]

On 13 June 2015, Ji scored her first World Cup goal with a penalty kick in a Group E match against Costa Rica at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.^[29] After finishing as runners-up in Group E, South Korea reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time.

Ahead of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup final, Ji had scored four goals in the competition, including a crucial goal in a 1–0 win over Australia in the quarter-finals.^[30] She also scored a penalty that gave South Korea a 2–0 lead at half-time in the final against China. South Korea came close to winning their first major women's football title, but the final ended in a 3–2 defeat after conceding three goals in the second half.^[31]

As of match played 31 March 2025^[32]

Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ji goal.

List of international goals scored by Ji So-yun^[26]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	30 November 2006	Doha, Qatar	Chinese Taipei	1–0	2–0	2006 Asian Games
2				2–0
3	17 February 2007	Masan, South Korea	India	1–0	5–0	2008 Summer Olympics qualification
4	15 April 2007	Hai Phong, Vietnam	Vietnam	1–1	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics qualification
5				2–1
6	12 August 2007	Cheongju, South Korea	Vietnam	1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics qualification
7	26 August 2009	Tainan, Taiwan	Northern Mariana Islands	1–0	19–0	2010 EAFF Women's Championship qualification
8				11–0
9				12–0
10				16–0
11				19–0
12	30 August 2009	Tainan, Taiwan	Chinese Taipei	5–0	6–0	2010 EAFF Women's Championship qualification
13	10 February 2010	Tokyo, Japan	China	1–2	1–2	2010 EAFF Women's Championship
14	14 November 2010	Guangzhou, China	Vietnam	1–1	6–1	2010 Asian Games
15	16 November 2010	Guangzhou, China	Jordan	1–0	5–0	2010 Asian Games
16				2–0
17				5–0
18	22 November 2010	Guangzhou, China	China	2–0	2–0	2010 Asian Games
19	7 March 2011	Paralimni, Cyprus	Russia	1–0	2–1	2011 Cyprus Women's Cup
20	18 June 2011	Ehime, Japan	Japan	1–1	1–1	Friendly
21	3 September 2011	Jinan, China	Japan	1–1	1–2	2012 Summer Olympics qualification
22	14 January 2013	Chongqing, China	Canada	2–0	3–1	Friendly
23	6 March 2013	Paralimni, Cyprus	South Africa	1–0	2–0	2013 Cyprus Women's Cup
24	8 March 2013	Paralimni, Cyprus	Northern Ireland	1–0	3–0	2013 Cyprus Women's Cup
25	27 July 2013	Seoul, South Korea	Japan	1–0	2–1	2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup
26				2–0
27	5 March 2014	Paralimni, Cyprus	Switzerland	1–1	1–1	2014 Cyprus Women's Cup
28	7 March 2014	Paralimni, Cyprus	Republic of Ireland	1–1	1–1	2014 Cyprus Women's Cup
29	15 May 2014	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Myanmar	1–0	12–0	2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup
30	17 May 2014	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Thailand	1–0	4–0	2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup
31	12 November 2014	Hsinchu, Taiwan	Guam	1–0	15–0	2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification
32				8–0
33	15 November 2014	Hsinchu, Taiwan	Hong Kong	1–0	9–0	2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification
34	13 January 2015	Shenzhen, China	China	2–2	3–2	Friendly
35	15 January 2015	Shenzhen, China	Mexico	2–1	2–1	Friendly
36	4 March 2015	Nicosia, Cyprus	Italy	1–1	1–2	2015 Cyprus Women's Cup
37	5 April 2015	Incheon, South Korea	Russia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
38	8 April 2015	Incheon, South Korea	Russia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
39	13 June 2015	Montreal, Canada	Costa Rica	1–1	2–2	2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
40	3 March 2017	Nicosia, Cyprus	Scotland	1–0	2–0	2017 Cyprus Women's Cup
41	6 March 2017	Larnaca, Cyprus	New Zealand	2–0	2–0	2017 Cyprus Women's Cup
42	5 April 2017	Pyongyang, North Korea	India	8–0	10–0	2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
43				10–0
44	11 April 2017	Pyongyang, North Korea	Uzbekistan	2–0	4–0	2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
45				4–0
46	19 August 2018	Palembang, Indonesia	Maldives	1–0	8–0	2018 Asian Games
47	21 August 2018	Palembang, Indonesia	Indonesia	10–0	12–0	2018 Asian Games
48				12–0
49	31 August 2018	Palembang, Indonesia	Chinese Taipei	1–0	4–0	2018 Asian Games
50	28 February 2019	Sydney, Australia	Argentina	4–0	5–0	2019 Cup of Nations
51				5–0
52	3 March 2019	Brisbane, Australia	Australia	1–1	1–4	2019 Cup of Nations
53	6 March 2019	Melbourne, Australia	New Zealand	1–0	2–0	2019 Cup of Nations
54	9 April 2019	Chuncheon, South Korea	Iceland	1–1	1–1	Friendly
55	6 October 2019	Chicago, United States	United States	1–0	1–1	Friendly
56	3 February 2020	Seogwipo, South Korea	Myanmar	1–0	7–0	2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
57				3–0
58	9 February 2020	Seogwipo, South Korea	Vietnam	3–0	3–0	2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
59	17 September 2021	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Mongolia	5–0	12–0	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
60	21 January 2022	Pune, India	Vietnam	1–0	3–0	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
61				3–0
62	24 January 2022	Pune, India	Myanmar	2–0	2–0	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
63	30 January 2022	Pune, India	Australia	1–0	1–0	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
64	6 February 2022	Navi Mumbai, India	China	2–0	2–3	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
65	19 July 2022	Kashima, Japan	Japan	1–1	1–2	2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
66	22 February 2023	Bristol, England	Italy	1–1	1–2	2023 Arnold Clark Cup
67	8 July 2023	Seoul, South Korea	Haiti	1–1	2–1	Friendly
68	22 September 2023	Wenzhou, China	Myanmar	2–0	3–0	2022 Asian Games
69	25 September 2023	Wenzhou, China	Philippines	3–1	5–1	2022 Asian Games
70	24 February 2024	Oeiras, Portugal	Czech Republic	1–0	2–1	Friendly
71	5 April 2024	Icheon, South Korea	Philippines	2–0	3–0	Friendly
72	23 February 2025	Al Hamriyah, United Arab Emirates	Thailand	3–0	4–0	2025 Pink Ladies Cup
73	9 July 2025	Suwon, South Korea	China	2–2	2–2	2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
74	16 July 2025	Suwon, South Korea	Chinese Taipei	1–0	2–0	2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship

INAC Kobe Leonessa

• Nadeshiko League: 2011, 2012, 2013
• Empress's Cup: 2011, 2012, 2013
• Nadeshiko League Cup: 2013
• International Women's Club Championship: 2013

Chelsea^[32]

• Women's Super League: 2015, 2017, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
• Women's FA Cup: 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22
• FA Women's League Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21
• Women's FA Community Shield: 2020
• UEFA Women's Champions League runner-up: 2020–21

South Korea U20

• FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup third place: 2010^[33]
• AFC U-19 Women's Championship runner-up: 2009^[28]

South Korea Universiade^[27]

• Summer Universiade: 2009^[34]

South Korea

• AFC Women's Asian Cup runner-up: 2022
• Asian Games bronze medal: 2010, 2014, 2018
• EAFF Championship: 2025^[35]

Individual

• Summer Universiade Most Valuable Player: 2009^[28]
• FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Ball: 2010^[33]
• FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Shoe: 2010^[33]
• AFC U-19 Women's Championship top goalscorer: 2009^[28]
• Asian Games top goalscorer: 2010^[36]
• IFFHS Asian Women's Team of All Time: 2021^[37]
• Korean FA Women's Player of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024^[2][38][39]
• WK League Midfielder of the Year: 2022, 2023^[40][41]
• WK League top assist provider: 2023^[41]
• Nadeshiko League Best XI: 2012, 2013^[42][43]
• FA Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2014^[7]
• PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2014–15^[8][9]
• PFA Women's Super League Team of the Year: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20^{[8][44][45][46][47]}
• Women's Super League Player of the Year by London Football Awards: 2015^[48]