Rikako Kobayashi

Rikako Kobayashi
Personal information
Full name	Rikako Kobayashi
Date of birth	July 21, 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth	Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current team	Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Youth career
2013–2015	Tokiwagi Gakuen High School
Senior career*
Years	Team
2016–	Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza
National team‡
2014	Japan U-17
2019–	Japan
Honours
Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Representing Japan
AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of end of the 2020 season; ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of December 31, 2020

Rikako Kobayashi (小林里歌子, Kobayashi Rikako, born July 21, 1997) is a Japanese football player. She plays for the Japan national team. Her brother Seigo Kobayashi is also footballer.

Biography change

Kobayashi was born in Kobe on July 21, 1997. After graduating from Tokiwagi Gakuen High School, she joined Nadeshiko League club Nippon TV Beleza (later Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza) in 2016.^[1] However she could not play in first 2 seasons due to injury. She debuted in 2018 season.

In 2013, Kobayashi was selected the Japan U-16 national team for 2013 AFC U-16 Championship. She scored 7 goals and became a top scorer. Japan team also won the championship. In 2014, Kobayashi was selected the Japan U-17 national team for 2014 U-17 World Cup. She played at 5 matches and scored 2 goals, and Japan won the championship.

In 2015, Kobayashi was selected the Japan U-19 national team for 2015 AFC U-19 Championship. Japan won the championship and she was selected Best players award. Although Japan qualified for the 2016 U-20 World Cup, she was not selected Japan team for the tournament due to injury.

In February 2019, Kobayashi was selected the Japan national team for SheBelieves Cup. At this tournament, on February 27, she debuted against United States.