Lee Geum-min

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Geum-min (Korean: 이금민, Korean pronunciation: [i.ɡɯm.min] or [i] [kɯm.min]; born 7 April 1994) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Championship club Birmingham City and the South Korea women's national team. She has previously played for Seoul City, Gyeongju KHNP, Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Lee Geum-min

Lee with Manchester City shirt in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-04-07) 7 April 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	South Korea
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Birmingham City
Number	77
Youth career
	Hyundai Info-Tech HS
	Ulsan College
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2017	Seoul City
2018–2019	Gyeongju KHNP
2019–2021	Manchester City	3	(1)
2020–2021	→ Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)	17	(3)
2021–2024	Brighton & Hove Albion	58	(7)
2024–	Birmingham City	2	(2)
International career‡
2009–2010	South Korea U17	11	(3)
2011–2014	South Korea U20	15	(6)
2013–	South Korea	90	(27)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 September 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 June 2024

Club career

Seoul WFC

On 4 November 2014, Lee was drafted first overall by Seoul WFC.^[1] She finished the 2015 season with six goals and two assists in 18 appearances.^{[citation needed]} The following season, she scored nine goals and registered four assists in 18 appearances.^{[citation needed]} In her final season with Seoul, Lee scored eleven goals and had six assists in 21 appearances.^{[citation needed]}

Gyeongju KHNP

In 2018, Lee joined Gyeongju KHNP.^[2] On 23 April 2018, she made her debut in a 0–0 draw with Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels.^[3] On 14 May 2018, she scored twice in a 3–0 away victory against Changnyeong WFC.^[4] In her final game for Gyeongju KHNP, Lee scored a hat-trick as her team won 3–0 away at Boeun Sangmu, having previously scored two goals in the previous match, her last at home, a 5–2 win over Suwon UDC.^[5]

Manchester City

On 7 August 2019, Manchester City announced they had signed Lee on a two-year contract. She made her Women's Super League (WSL) debut on 7 September 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium. The match broke the record attendance for a WSL match at 31,213.^[6] Lee made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut and first City start in a 7–1 away win against Swiss team FF Lugano 1976 on 12 September 2019.^[7] She scored her first goal for Manchester City on 12 October 2019, coming on as a late substitute at home to Birmingham City to seal a 3–0 victory.^[8]

Loan to Brighton & Hove Albion

On 24 July 2020, it was announced that Lee had joined WSL team Brighton & Hove Albion on loan for the 2020–21 season with head coach Hope Powell describing the signing as "a real coup."^[9] She made her debut for Brighton in the season opener, a 2–0 home win against Birmingham City on 6 September 2020. Lee made her FA Cup debut on 27 September 2020, starting in Brighton's quarter-final also against Birmingham City.^[10]

On 7 February 2021, Lee was part of the Brighton team that ended Chelsea's 33-match unbeaten run with a 2–1 victory for the Seagulls.^[11] Her first goal for Brighton, a header, came in the away fixture at Reading on 2 May 2021. Her second, a long-range hit, came just a minute later when she intercepted the ball from Reading's kick-off. The strike was described as an contender for WSL goal of the season.^[12] Lee then went on to score in Brighton's next fixture, an end-of-season game at home to Bristol.^[13]

Brighton & Hove Albion

Lee transferred permanently to Brighton from Manchester City in August 2021.^[14] She scored for Albion in their 2021–22 season opener against West Ham United on 5 September 2021.^[15] It was her fourth goal in her last three WSL games, including the final two matches of the previous season.^[16]

Birmingham City

In September 2024, Lee joined Women's Championship club Birmingham City on a two-year permanent deal for an undisclosed fee, subject to league and visa approval.^[17]

International career

Lee was a member of the under-16 team that won the 2009 AFC U-16 Women's Championship and was in the under-17 team that claimed the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup the following year.^[18] She made two appearances at the 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, scoring two goals against Australia in a 4–2 win. In 2013, she helped South Korea win the 2013 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and qualify for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.^[19] Lee was selected by South Korea for the 2015 Women's World Cup^[20] and the 2019 Women's World Cup.^[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 May 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	2019–20	FA WSL	3	1	0	0	2	0	3	0	8	1
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)	2020–21	FA WSL	17	3	1	0	2	0	—		20	3
Brighton & Hove Albion	2021–22	FA WSL	16	2	1	0	2	0	—		19	2
	2022–23	WSL	22	3	3	2	3	1	—		28	6
	2023–24	WSL	20	2	3	0	3	0	—		26	2
	Total		58	7	7	2	8	1	—		73	10
Career total			78	11	8	2	12	1	3	0	101	14

International

As of 5 June 2024^[22]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	2013	4	1
	2015	9	0
	2016	8	6
	2017	9	4
	2018	13	3
	2019	11	2
	2020	2	0
	2021	8	2
	2022	11	2
	2023	11	7
	2024	4	0
Total		90	27

Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lee goal.

List of international goals scored by Lee Guen-min

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 March 2013	Tasos Markou Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus	South Africa	2–0	2–0	2013 Cyprus Women's Cup
2	9 March 2016	Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan	Vietnam	3–0	4–0	2016 Olympic Games qualification
3	8 November 2016	Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong	Guam	10–0	13–0	2017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification
4	11 November 2016	Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1–0	14–0	2017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification
5				11–0		2017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification
6				12–0		2017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification
7	14 November 2016	Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong	Chinese Taipei	4–0	9–0	2017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification
8	5 April 2017	Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea	India	3–0	10–0	2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
9				4–0		2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
10				7–0		2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
11	9 April 2017	Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea	Hong Kong	5–0	6–0	2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
12	13 April 2018	King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Vietnam	2–0	4–0	2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
13	24 August 2018	Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang, Indonesia	Hong Kong	3–0	5–0	2018 Asian Games
14	31 August 2018	Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang, Indonesia	Chinese Taipei	2–0	4–0	2018 Asian Games
15	17 January 2019	Wuhua County Olympic Sports Centre, Meizhou, China	Romania	3–0	3–0	2019 Four Nations Tournament
16	6 April 2019	Yongin Mireu Stadium, Yongin, South Korea	Iceland	2–2	2–3	Friendly
17	17 September 2021	Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Mongolia	3–0	12–0	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
18				6–0
19	24 January 2022	Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India	Myanmar	1–0	2–0	2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
20	9 April 2022	Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea	Vietnam	3–0	3–0	Friendly
21	19 February 2023	Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, England	Belgium	1–0	1–2	2023 Arnold Clark Cup
22	7 April 2023	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Zambia	2–2	5–2	Friendly
23				3–2
24	11 April 2023	Yongin Mireu Stadium, Yongin, South Korea	Zambia	1–0	5–0	Friendly
25				3–0
26				4–0
27	26 October 2023	Xiamen Egret Stadium, Xiamen, China	Thailand	8–0	10–1	2024 Olympic Games qualification

Honours

South Korea

• AFC U-16 Women's Championship: 2009
• FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup: 2010
• AFC U-19 Women's Championship: 2013

References

1. "이금민, WK리그 1순위로 서울시청행(종합)" (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
2. "[WK리그] '강철체력' 이금민 "힘들지만 뛰는 게 좋아요"" (in Korean). Naver. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
3. "Match Report: Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels 0–0 Gyeongju KHNP" (in Korean). Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF). 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
4. "March Report: Changnyeong 0–3 Gyeongju KHNP" (in Korean). Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF). 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
5. "Gyeongju W – South Korea: Results". soccer24.com. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
6. "Manchester City Women 1–0 Manchester United Women: Weir seals win in front of record WSL crowd". BBC Sport. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
7. "Women's Champions League: Manchester City thrash Lugano 7–1 in last 32 first leg". BBC Sport. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
8. "Manchester City top WSL table as Birmingham suffer consequences of missing star player". The Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
9. "Lee Geum-min: Striker joins Brighton on loan from Manchester City". BBC Sport. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
10. "Brighton team". Brighton & Hove Albion Women. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2024 – via Twitter.
11. "Women's Super League highlights: Brighton & Hove Albion Women seal shock 2–1 win at WSL leaders Chelsea Women". BBC Sport. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
12. "WSL goal of the season? Brighton's Lee Geum-min hits long-range stunner". BBC Sport. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
13. "Barclays FA WSL report: Brighton 3–1 Bristol City". The FA. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
14. "Lee Geum-min: Brighton sign South Korea striker on permanent deal". BBC Sport. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
15. "Brighton & Hove Albion vs. West Ham United – 5 September 2021 – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
16. "Why South Korea star striker Geummin Lee is 'waxing lyrical' at Brighton". Brighton And Hove Independent. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
17. "Blues Women add Lee Geum-min". Birmingham City F.C. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
18. "Lee lauds her South Korean soul sisters". FIFA. 17 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
19. "Lee Geummin (이금민) player profile" (in Korean). Korea Football Association (KFA). Retrieved 10 June 2018.
20. "World Cup Squad Number 2015". women's soccer united.
21. "World Cup Squads 2019". fox sports.
22. "이금민 LEE Geummin". kfa.or.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 20 February 2023.

External links

• Lee Geum-min – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Lee Geum-min at the Korea Football Association (KFA)
• Lee Geum-min at the Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF)
• Lee Geum-min at Soccerway