Yeo Min-ji
South Korean footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yeo Min-ji (Korean: 여민지; born 27 April 1993) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a forward for Selangor.
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Yeo in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 27 April 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Gimhae, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Selangor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Gumi Sportstoto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Suwon UDC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Gyeongju KHNP | 33 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | JEF United Chiba | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Selangor | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | South Korea U17 | 14 | (22) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | South Korea U20 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011– | South Korea | 53 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 October 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
Yeo became interested in football as a child, playing together with her older brother.[1] She began training in earnest when she joined the football academy at Myeongseo Elementary School in Busan in the fourth grade.[2] She was the top goalscorer when her team achieved a clean sweep of all the domestic tournament titles in 2005.[3]
While playing for Haman Daesan High School and representing South Korea at youth level, Yeo sustained an injury to her right knee which required surgery.[4] Yeo later attended Ulsan College, where she was part of the winning team at the university division of the Korean Women's National Championship.[5]
Club career
Following her performance at the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Yeo was one of the most highly anticipated newcomers ahead of the start of the 2014 WK League.[6] She was the third pick at the 2014 WK League draft, signing a three-year contract with Chungbuk Sportstoto.[7] While playing for Sportstoto for five years, she won two Korean Women's National Championship titles with the club, and became the top goalscorer at one of the two tournaments.[8]
After leaving Sportstoto at the end of the 2018 season, Yeo played for Suwon UDC from 2019 to 2020,[9] and Gyeongju KHNP from 2021 to 2024.[10] She was appointed Gyeongju's captain from 2022 to 2024.[11]
In March 2025, South Korean media reported that Yeo's agency had reached a deal with Toppserien club Kolbotn, and left the last procedures including her medical examination.[12] In June, Yeo signed for WE League side JEF United Chiba, contrary to expectations.[13]
International career
Yeo started to train at the national under-20 team when she was 14 years old, but missed out on the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup due to an ACL injury.[3]
While South Korea won their first AFC U-16 Women's Championship title in 2009, Yeo became the top goalscorer of the tournament with 10 goals in five matches.[14][15] She scored hat-tricks against Myanmar and Thailand, the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Japan, and three goals in two matches against North Korea.[16] Her influence was continued until the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, where South Korea won a world competition organised by FIFA for the first time.[17] At the U-17 World Cup, she scored eight goals during six matches, receiving the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe.[18] She was subsequently named the AFC Women's Youth Player of the Year.[19]
After her success as a youth international, Yeo became a regular in the senior squad.[20] She was named in the squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, but was unable to play in the finals following a knee injury in training.[9][21]
During the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup,[22] Yeo played all three Group A matches and scored South Korea's only goal at the tournament in a 2–1 defeat to Norway.[16][23]
Honours
Gumi Sportstoto
- Korean Women's National Championship: 2017, 2018[8]
Suwon UDC
- Korean Women's National Championship: 2019[24]
Gyeongju KHNP
- Korean Women's National Championship: 2022[25]
South Korea U17
South Korea
- AFC Women's Asian Cup runner-up: 2022
- EAFF Championship runner-up: 2019
Individual
- AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup top goalscorer: 2009[14]
- FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Golden Ball: 2010[26]
- FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Golden Shoe: 2010[27]
- AFC Women's Youth Player of the Year: 2010[19]
- Korean Women's National Championship top goalscorer: 2018[8]