Yu Jong-hyang has reached 12 career goals in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, overtaking Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos, who held the previous record with 11. The new mark was set on 20 October 2026 when the DPR Korea forward scored twice in a 6-1 win over Poland, in the second round of Group B matches at the World Cup in Morocco. This is a cumulative record across different editions, not 12 goals at one tournament.
Yu’s total consists of eight goals at Morocco 2025 and four from her first two matches of the 2026 edition. That distinction is essential to understanding precisely what the record means. FIFA has recognised the achievement, and the totals are supported by reports from DPR Korea’s two matches played by 20 October.
How did Yu Jong-hyang reach 12 goals?
In 2025, Yu scored eight times, finished as the leading scorer, won FIFA’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball and helped DPR Korea win the title. According to FIFA’s official awards report, her eight goals equalled the record for a single edition. In 2026, she added two against Puerto Rico and another two against Poland.
| Edition and match | Yu’s goals | Cumulative U-17 World Cup total |
|---|---|---|
| Morocco 2025, full tournament | 8 | 8 |
| Morocco 2026, vs Puerto Rico (17 Oct) | 2 | 10 |
| Morocco 2026, vs Poland (20 Oct) | 2 | 12 |
| Total through 20 Oct 2026 | 12 | 12 |
The eight goals in 2025 cover that entire edition. The four in 2026 cover only the two games played by this article’s cut-off. The table does not include matches from other youth competitions, such as the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup.
What happened in the two 2026 matches?
DPR Korea 6-0 Puerto Rico, 17 October
Yu opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a header and scored again in the 38th minute with a long-range strike, according to FIFA’s match report. Her brace took her World Cup career total from eight to ten. Kim Won-sim also scored twice in that match.
DPR Korea 6-1 Poland, 20 October
The forward scored in the 29th and 53rd minutes, first with an effort inside the box and then with a header following a corner. Her first goal brought her to 11 in the competition’s history, drawing level with Deyna. The second took her to 12 and established the new record. The group-stage win also secured DPR Korea a place in the round of 16 with one match to spare.
What was Deyna Castellanos’ record?
Deyna Castellanos scored six goals at the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica and another five at the 2016 edition in Jordan. Her total of 11 stood as the all-time record for ten years. The valid comparison combines each player’s output across two editions of the same competition, without confusing the cumulative mark with a single-tournament scoring tally.
| Player | First edition | Second edition | All-time total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yu Jong-hyang (DPR Korea) | 2025: 8 goals | 2026: 4 goals in 2 matches | 12 goals |
| Deyna Castellanos (Venezuela) | 2014: 6 goals | 2016: 5 goals | 11 goals |
What do the figures show about DPR Korea’s attack?
DPR Korea beat Puerto Rico 6-0 and Poland 6-1, scoring 12 team goals across two Group B games. Of those goals in 2026, Yu scored four, Kim Won-sim four, Ri Ui-gyong two and Ri Ye-rim two. The team’s 12 goals in this edition by the cut-off happen to match Yu’s 12 career goals at the tournament, but they are different statistics.
The results help explain why DPR Korea qualified for the round of 16 before matchday three. They do not, by themselves, guarantee another title or justify a forecast for the final scoring charts: the current-edition sample comprises just two matches.
What is the cut-off, and when could the record change?
Editorial verification at 22 October 2026, 10:30 (UTC-3), covering results through 20 October 2026. At that point Yu had four goals at Morocco 2026 and 12 across the 2025 and 2026 editions. DPR Korea still had a group match against Nigeria scheduled for 23 October, so her total could rise and should be checked again after subsequent matches. These are not live statistics.
Sources and references
- FIFA: report on Yu Jong-hyang’s record, 20 October 2026
- FIFA, French edition: comparison with Deyna Castellanos and historical totals
- FIFA: DPR Korea 6-0 Puerto Rico, 17 October 2026, goals and chronology
- FIFA: DPR Korea 6-1 Poland, 20 October 2026, goals and qualification
- FIFA: awards and top scorer at Morocco 2025
- Asian Football Confederation: report on the 6-1 win over Poland, 21 October 2026
