Jong Il-gwan
Jong Il-gwan (; born 30 October 1992) is a North Korean professional footballer who plays as a striker for DPR Korea Premier Football League club Rimyongsu and the North Korea national team. He is the all-time top scorer for North Korea.

Club career
On 24 November 2010, he was crowned AFC Youth Player of the Year. On 5 June 2012, numerous reports surfaced linking the player with a move to Newcastle United with later reports strongly linking him with FK Partizan and PSV Eindhoven. He was transferred to Swiss Super League club FC Luzern in July 2017, signing a two-year contract.

On 1 August 2022, Jong won his club's first ever Hwaebul Cup after scoring a 96th minute winner against April 25 in a 2–1 win.

International career
Jong made his senior international debut for North Korea on 26 March 2011 against Iraq in a 2–0 defeat.

Jong made his EAFF preliminaries debut in 2012 against Chinese Taipei. He scored his first competition goal in a 5–0 win against Guam in the second preliminary round. Jong scored a brace in 2014 against the same opposition for the second preliminary round, helping his side qualify for the final tournament. He scored another goal against Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong in 2016 for the 2017 edition's second preliminaries. On 16 December 2017, Jong scored a stunning free kick against China in a 1–1 draw.

For the 2019 Asian Cup, Jong was named captain of the national team. Against Qatar, he was sent off towards the end of the match.

On 21 November 2023, Jong scored his first international hat-trick against Myanmar.

Career statistics

International

North Korea score listed first, score column indicates score after each Jong goal

Style of play 
Jong is known for being a pacy and technical forward who can play on either flanks or up top. He has an expert first touch and vision and has an eye for exploiting spaces in between defenders. Jong is also a set piece specialist, scoring multiple free kicks in his international career.

Honours
North Korea U20
AFC U-19 Championship: 2010

North Korea
Hero Intercontinental Cup: 2019

Individual
Hero Intercontinental Cup Best player: 2019

References

External links

1992 births
Living people
North Korean men's footballers
North Korea men's international footballers
Men's association football forwards
Asian Young Footballer of the Year winners
2015 AFC Asian Cup players
2019 AFC Asian Cup players
Asian Games medalists in football
Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games
Asian Games silver medalists for North Korea
Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games
Swiss Challenge League players
FC Luzern players
FC Wil players
Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
North Korean expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
North Korean expatriate men's footballers