| Rikako Kobayashi 小林 里歌子 | |
| Fullname: | Rikako Kobayashi |
| Birth Date: | 1997 7, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Kobe, Hyogo, Japan |
| Position: | Forward |
| Youthyears1: | 2013–2015 |
| Youthclubs1: | Tokiwagi Gakuen High School LSC |
| Years1: | 2016–2023 |
| Clubs1: | Tokyo Verdy Beleza |
| Caps1: | 72 |
| Goals1: | 36 |
| Years2: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs2: | North Carolina Courage |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Totalcaps: | 25 |
| Totalgoals: | 22 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2014 |
| Nationalteam1: | Japan U-17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 2 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2019– |
| Nationalteam2: | Japan |
| Nationalcaps2: | 16 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 4 |
| Club-Update: | March 21, 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | December 17, 2019 |
is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a midfielder for the Japan national team. She is the sister of footballer Seigo Kobayashi.
Kobayashi was born in Hyogo Prefecture on 21 July 1997. She attended and played for Tokiwagi Gakuen High School, which competed in the second-division Challenge League. She led Tokiwagi Gakuen, the only high school competing in senior league competition at the time, to its first and only third-division Challenge League championship in 2015[1] as the league's top scorer[2] and most valuable player.[2] She also won the 2015 AFC young player of the year award.[3]
She joined L.League club Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza in 2016.[4] However, she could not play in her first two seasons due to injury and debuted in the 2018 season.
On 17 July 2023, North Carolina Courage of the American National Women's Soccer League announced their signing of Kobayashi for a two-year contract through the 2024 NWSL season, with an option for an additional year.[5] [6] After failing to make a professional appearance for North Carolina due to injury, the club and Kobayashi mutually agreed to terminate her contract on 21 March 2024.[7]
In 2013, Kobayashi was selected in 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 in Japan U-17 national team for 2014 U-17 World Cup.[8] She played 5 matches and scored 2 goals, and Japan won the championship.
In 2015, Kobayashi was selected 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 to the Japan team for the tournament due to injury.
In February 2019, Kobayashi was selected Japan national team for SheBelieves Cup. At this tournament, on 27 February, she debuted against United States.[9]
| Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Nippon TV Beleza | 2016 | Nadeshiko League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Nadeshiko League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | Nadeshiko League | 15 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | 29 | 5 | |||
| 2019 | Nadeshiko League | 16 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 16 | ||
| 2020 | Nadeshiko League | 14 | 13 | 5 | 6 | — | — | 19 | 19 | ||||
| 2021–22 | WE League | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 11 | 4 | ||||
| 2022–23 | WE League | 18 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 8 | |||
| Total | 72 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 106 | 53 | |||
| North Carolina Courage | 2023 | NWSL | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career Total | 72 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 106 | 53 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2019 | 12 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 16 | 4 | ||
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kobayashi goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 3 March 2019 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2019 SheBelieves Cup | ||
| 2. | 4 April 2019 | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly | ||
| 3. | 6 October 2019 | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | ||
| 4. | 11 December 2019 | Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea | 3–0 | 9–0 | 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship | |
Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Individual