AFC Women's Champions League - Ri hails remarkable Naegohyang

Suwon: Ri Yu Il was immensely proud of his Naegohyang Women’s FC side after they upstaged Tokyo Verdy Beleza to lift the AFC Women’s Champions League 2025/26™ trophy on Saturday.

Kim Kyong Yong’s 44th minute strike was the difference between the two teams in a contest which the DPR Korea club -formed only in 2012 - produced undeniably their best performance of the competition.

#AWCL | Final: Tokyo Verdy Beleza (JPN) 0-1 Naegohyang Women's FC (PRK)

“Naegohyang have a very short history but today, we have become winners of the AFC Women’s Champions League,” said Ri. “I’m thankful to all the team members who have overcome all difficulties in the tournament and executed the tactics we gave them fully.

“Thank you to the fans who have supported us all the way. We were focused and got the result we wanted.”

The result was a remarkable turnaround as Tokyo Verdy had cruised to a 4-0 win in their group stage encounter, showing Naegohyang’s incredible growth under Ri’s tutelage.

The 1-0 win at Suwon Sports Complex could have been by a much wider margin had it not been for the heroics of Tokyo Verdy goalkeeper Shu Ohba, especially in the second half where Naegohyang carved out chance after chance.

With participation in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2027 also part of their title-winning dividends, Ri said there’s much work to be done in order for Naegohyang to compete.

“We can celebrate today but after this, we will put the win behind us and look to keep improving the team and the players. Our players are young and still make a lot of mistakes and we have to make them learn from that.”

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