is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Women's Super League club West Ham United and the Japan national team.
Early life Ueki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on 30 July 1999. She started playing football in 2011 at the age of 12. From the day she first started football, Ueki has always played as a forward, never playing in any other position in her career so far. She had stated that her role model growing up was fellow Japanese forward Mana Iwabuchi She joined Tokyo Verdy Beleza youth team in 2012.
Ueki attended Waseda University, one of the most selective and prestigious universities in Japan, majoring in sports science. While at college she took courses in sports management and marketing. She graduated from the university in March 2022.
Club career
Tokyo Verdy Beleza Ueki joined Nadeshiko League club Tokyo Verdy Beleza from the youth team in 2015, and was first called up to the senior team in June 2016. She marked her debut with a goal as a substitute in a League Cup match against Speranza Osaka. She was part of the squad which won four consecutive Nadeshiko League title from 2016 to 2019. In the inaugural 2021–22 WE League season, Ueki was chosen amongst the recipients of the Most Outstanding Players award. She had her breakout season the 2022–23 WE League season, as she finished as the league's top scorer with 14 goals and was named to the 2022–23 WE League Best Eleven. in In total, she has scored 81 goals in 152 appearances in all competitions for Tokyo Verdy Beleza.
West Ham United On 12 September 2023, Ueki joined West Ham United ahead of the 2023–24 Women's Super League season. She made her debut in the opening league match defeat to Manchester City on 1 October 2023. She would score her first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion on 8 October 2023.
On 9 September 2025, Ueki signed a one-year contract extension at West Ham tying her to the club until summer 2027.
International career
Youth In 2016, Ueki was selected to the Japan U-17 national team for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016. FIFA She played in 6 matches and scored 4 goals, and Japan finished as runners-up in the tournament. In 2018, Ueki was selected for the Japan U-20 national team for 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018. FIFA She played in all 6 matches and scored 5 goals, including a crucial goal in their semi-final victory over England and helped Japan win the title.
Senior On 4 April 2019, Ueki debuted for the senior Japan national team against France.Japan Football Association Later that year, Ueki was named to Japan's squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup; however, she was forced to withdraw due to injury on 31 May. Ueki experienced a breakout year with the national team in 2022, as she began to establish herself as a starting striker and finished the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup as Japan's top scorer with five goals, and joint second-highest goalscorer of the tournament as a whole.
On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. On July 31, 2023, Ueki scored in Japan's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C Round 3 match against Spain.
On 14 June 2024, Ueki was included in the Japan squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Ueki was part of the Japan squad that won the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.
Ueki won the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup with her national team after a 1–0 victory over Australia in the final, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with 6 goals.
Personal life One of Ueki's main hobbies is reading manga, also known as Japanese comics or graphic novels, and she revealed that she has a collection of over 1000 copies of such books at home. She was even invited to make a cameo appearance in a television drama adaptation of the manga series Shiyakusho that aired on TV Tokyo from October to December 2019.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTokyo Verdy Beleza2016Nadeshiko League000095—952017Nadeshiko League1854383—30112018Nadeshiko League1245388—25152019Nadeshiko League1683010312392020Nadeshiko League14400——1442021–22WE League19621——2172022–23WE League19144856—28282023–24WE League000022—22Total9841181533243115281West Ham United2023–24Women's Super League2261031—2672024–25Women's Super League2241052—2862025–26Women's Super League2022131—2542026–27Women's Super League200000—20Total661241114008117Career total16453221644283123398
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational TeamYearAppsGoalsJapan201930202020202110202211820231332024101202560202687Total5419
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ueki goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Riko UekiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition121 January 2022Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India1–05–02022 AFC Women's Asian Cup227 January 2022Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India1–01–1330 January 2022DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, India5–07–02022 AFC Women's Asian Cup43 February 2022Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India1–02–2 (3–4 p)52–1624 June 2022Sport Center FAS, Stara Pazova, Serbia1–05–0Friendly727 June 2022Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland4–15–1Friendly89 October 2022Nagano U Stadium, Nagano, Japan2–02–0Friendly922 July 2023Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand5–05–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup1031 July 2023Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand2–04–02023 FIFA Women's World Cup1123 September 2023Kitakyushu Stadium, Kitakyushu, Japan7–08–0Friendly1213 July 2024Kanazawa Stadium, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan4–04–0MS&AD Cup137 March 2026Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth, Australia6–011–02026 AFC Women's Asian Cup147–01510–01610 March 2026Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth, Australia1–04–0 1715 March 2026 Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia7–07–02026 AFC Women's Asian Cup1818 March 2026Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia1–04–11911 April 2026PayPal Park, San Jose, California, United States1–21–2Friendly
Honours Tokyo Verdy Beleza Nadeshiko League: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Nadeshiko League Cup: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 WE League Cup runner-up: 2022–23 Empress's Cup: 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 AFC Women's Club Championship: 2019
Japan U19 AFC U-19 Women's Championship: 2015
Japan U20 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup: 2018 AFC U-19 Women's Championship: 2017
Japan AFC Asian Cup: 2026 EAFF Women's Football Championship: 2019, 2022
Individual WE League Best XI: 2022–23 WE League Golden Boot: 2022–23 WE League Outstanding Players Award: 2021–22, 2022–23 West Ham United Young Player of the Year: 2023–24 AFC Women's Asian Cup Golden Boot: 2026
References
External links
Japan Football Association