Jeon Ga-eul


Jeon Ga-eul is a retired South Korean footballer. She was the first South Korean to play in the US National Women's Soccer League, and the Australian W-League. She has won numerous domestic league titles, individual MVP titles and international competitions, being the leading scorer in the national team side that won the Women's gold medal in football at the 2009 Summer Universiade. Jeon scored notable braces against Germany in the group stages, and against Japan in the Final. She also scored six goals in one match against South Africa. Overall, she made over 100 appearances for the South Korean national team.
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Club career

Western New York Flash

On 1 January 2016, the National Women's Soccer League club Western New York Flash announced the signing of Jeon for the 2016 season, making her the first player from South Korea to play in the league.
She was released by the Flash on 13 June 2016.

Melbourne Victory

On 25 October 2017, Jeon signed with Melbourne Victory, becoming the first South Korean player to join the W-League. On 3 November 2017, she made her debut in a 1–0 loss to Melbourne City. On 9 December 2017, she scored her first goal in a 4–0 win over Adelaide United. She finished the [2017–18 Melbourne Victory W-League (Australia)|W-League season|2017–18 season] with one goal in ten appearances.

Hwacheon KSPO

In February 2018, Jeon signed with Hwacheon KSPO. On 23 April 2018, she scored on her debut in a 3–0 home victory against Boeun Sangmu.

Bristol City

Jeon Ga-eul was announced as a new signing by Bristol City of the FA WSL on 18 January 2020. Jeon made her Bristol City debut on 26 January 2020 in their Women's FA Cup fourth round victory against Durham. Due to fixture cancellations caused by bad weather, Jeon's FA WSL debut came on 12 February 2020 away at league leaders Manchester City. She received praise in the sporting press for her performance with sports website Vavel saying, "The 31-year-old played in the number 10 role in Manchester and looked like a real leader with her vast experience at international level and in the W-League shining through. The Robins' number 14 worked her socks off at both ends of the field and was encouraging her teammates every time the ball went out of play."

Reading

Having been released by Bristol at the end of the 2019–20 season, Jeon returned to the WSL by signing for Reading at the start of the 2020–21 season. She made her Reading debut on 4 October 2020, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute in their 1–0 away win at West Ham. She made her starting XI debut on 7 October 2020 in Reading's 4–0 home win over Charlton in the FA Women's League Cup. A long-term injury sustained later that month meant she made just four appearances for Reading during the 2020–21 season. After playing only two games in the first half of the 2021–22 season, Jeon left Reading in December 2021.

International career

Jeon was a member of the under-17 team that finished fourth at the 2005 AFC U-17 Women's Championship, where she scored four goals in five appearances. On 12 August 2007, she made her senior debut in a 2–1 victory against Vietnam, before returning to the under-19 team to play at the 2007 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, where South Korea finished fourth. In 2008, she was called up to represent South Korea at the 2008 EAFF Women's Football Championship, at the 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup and at the 2008 Peace Queen Cup. In 2009, she helped South Korea win gold at the 2009 Summer Universiade, finishing as the top scorer of the tournament with 10 goals. The following year, she scored the game-winning goal against Australia in the 2010 Peace Queen Cup final and was named the tournament's MVP. She was also part of the team that won bronze at the [Football at the 2010 Peace Queen Cup|2010 Asian Games – Women|2010 Asian Games] and finished third at the 2010 EAFF Women's Football Championship. However, South Korea finished third in group B at the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup and failed to qualify for the World Cup. At the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup, she scored three goals in 5 appearances as South Korea qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2003. She won another bronze medal at the [Football at the 2014 WK League|2014 Asian Games – Women|2014 Asian Games], where she scored six goals. In 2015, she helped South Korea finish second at the 2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup and at the 2015 Four Nations Tournament. Jeon played all four of South Korea's matches at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, scoring a goal in a 2–2 draw with Costa Rica on 13 June 2015.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
126 March 2008Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand6–014–02008 AFC Women's Asian Cup qual.
226 March 2008Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand11–014–02008 AFC Women's Asian Cup qual.
326 March 2008Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand13–014–02008 AFC Women's Asian Cup qual.
426 March 2008Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand14–014–02008 AFC Women's Asian Cup qual.
518 June 2008Suwon, South Korea2–02–02008 Peace Queen Cup
612 January 2009Guangzhou, China3–14–3Friendly
724 August 2009Tainan, Taiwan1–09–02010 EAFF Women's Championship qual.
824 August 2009Tainan, Taiwan3–09–02010 EAFF Women's Championship qual.
928 August 2009Tainan, Taiwan6–07–02010 EAFF Women's Championship qual.
1030 August 2009Tainan, Taiwan1–06–02010 EAFF Women's Championship qual.
1130 August 2009Tainan, Taiwan6–06–02010 EAFF Women's Championship qual.
127 February 2010Tokyo, Japan1–04–02010 EAFF Women's Championship
1323 October 2010Suwon, South Korea2–02–12010 Peace Queen Cup
144 March 2011Paralimni, Cyprus1–01–12011 Cyprus Cup
1514 January 2013Chongqing, China1–03–1Friendly
1615 May 2014Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam4–012–02014 AFC Women's Asian Cup
1715 May 2014Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam5–012–02014 AFC Women's Asian Cup
1815 May 2014Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam10–012–02014 AFC Women's Asian Cup
1914 September 2014Incheon, South Korea4–05–02014 Asian Games
2017 September 2014Incheon, South Korea1–010–02014 Asian Games
2117 September 2014Incheon, South Korea4–010–02014 Asian Games
2217 September 2014Incheon, South Korea7–010–02014 Asian Games
2321 September 2014Incheon, South Korea7–013–02014 Asian Games
2426 September 2014Incheon, South Korea1–01–02014 Asian Games
2512 November 2014Hsinchu, Taiwan4–015–02015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qual.
2612 November 2014Hsinchu, Taiwan7–015–02015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qual.
2712 November 2014Hsinchu, Taiwan9–015–02015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qual.
2812 November 2014Hsinchu, Taiwan13–015–02015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qual.
2915 November 2014Hsinchu, Taiwan2–09–02015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qual.
3018 November 2014Taipei, Taiwan2–02–02015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qual.
3113 January 2015Shenzhen, China3–23–2Friendly
3215 January 2015Shenzhen, China1–02–1Friendly
3313 June 2015Montreal, Canada2–12–22015 FIFA Women's World Cup
344 August 2015Wuhan, China2–12–12015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup
359 March 2016Osaka, Japan4–04–02016 AFC Women's Olympic qual.
3616 August 2018Palembang, Indonesia1–02–12018 Asian Games
3724 August 2018Palembang, Indonesia1–05–02018 Asian Games
3824 August 2018Palembang, Indonesia2–05–02018 Asian Games

Honours

Club

Suwon FMC
Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels

International

Individual