João Pedro (footballer, born 1998)
 João Pedro signing with Benfica de Macau | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Pedro da Silva Freitas | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Ainaro, East Timor | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kuching City | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Centro Treinamento Futebol Juvenil Timor-Leste | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2019 | SLB Laulara | ||
| 2019 | Ubon United | ||
| 2020 | SLB Laulara | ||
| 2022–2023 | Lalenok United | ||
| 2023–2024 | Benfica de Macau | 43 | (37) |
| 2024 | PSM Makassar | 10 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Angkor Tiger | 26 | (6) |
| 2025– | Kuching City | 1 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018– | Timor-Leste | 24 | (8) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025 | |||
João Pedro da Silva Freitas (born 24 June 1998), better known as João Pedro, is an East Timorese professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Malaysia Super League club Kuching City and the Timor-Leste national team.
João Pedro is currently the all time top scorer of the Timor-Leste national team with 8 goals. He also holds the record for the highest goal scoring Timorese to score in the ASEAN Championship.
International career
João Pedro made his national team debut for Timor-Leste at the 2018 AFF Championship tournament. On 17 November 2018, he made his first international goal against Philippines.[1]
On 7 June 2019, João Pedro scored Timor-Leste's only goal in a 7–1 defeat to Malaysia in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[2]
On 5 September 2024, João Pedro scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over Mongolia in the first leg of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round.[3]
During the 2024 ASEAN Championship against Cambodia on 17 November 2024. João Pedro become the joint top scorer for Timor-Leste with 7 goals.
On 10 June 2025, Pedro scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win against Maldives in the third round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification, making him become the top scorer for Timor-Leste of all time.
Career statistics
International
- As of 10 June 2025[4]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timor-Leste | 2018 | 6 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 24 | 8 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Timor-Leste's goal tally first.[4]
| Date | No. | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 17 November 2018 | Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Philippines |
2–3 | 2–3 | 2018 AFF Championship |
| 2. | 7 June 2019 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Malaysia |
1–4 | 1–7 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 5 September 2024 | Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Indonesia |  Mongolia |
1–0 | 4–1 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 4. | 2–0 | |||||
| 5. | 3–1 | |||||
| 6. | 11 December 2024 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Malaysia |
2–1 | 2–3 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 7. | 17 December 2024 | Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia |  Cambodia |
1–0 | 1–2 | |
| 8. | 10 June 2025 | Territory Rugby League Stadium, Darwin, Australia |  Maldives |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
Honours
ASEAN All-Stars
Individual
References
- ^ "Hasil Piala AFF 2018: Filipina Kalahkan Timor Leste 3-2". sport.detik.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Malaysia Belasah Timor Leste 7-1" (in Malay). Sinar Harian. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2024/09/05/asia/asian-cup-qualification/timor-leste/mongolia/4357025/
- ^ a b João Pedro at National-Football-Teams.com