Thomas Deng

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Thomas Deng
Personal information
Full name Thomas Jok Deng[1]
Date of birth (1997-03-20) 20 March 1997 (age 29)
Place of birth Nairobi, Kenya
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2][3]
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Yokohama F. Marinos
Number 44
Youth career
Adelaide Blue Eagles
Playford City
2011–2013 Western Eagles
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Western Eagles 15 (2)
2014 Green Gully 13 (0)
2015–2016 Melbourne Victory NPL 10 (0)
2015–2020 Melbourne Victory 71 (2)
2016–2017 → Jong PSV (loan) 5 (0)
2020–2021 Urawa Red Diamonds 21 (1)
2022–2025 Albirex Niigata 64 (0)
2025– Yokohama F. Marinos 18 (0)
International career‡
2015–2016 Australia U20 10 (0)
2016–2021 Australia U23 15 (1)
2018– Australia 5 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
Third place 2020 Thailand U-23 Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 September 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 March 2024

Thomas Jok Deng (born 20 March 1997) is a professional soccer player who plays as a central defender for J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos. Born a South Sudanese refugee in Kenya, he has represented the Australia national team.

Early life

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Thomas Jok Deng was born 20 March 1997[citation needed] into a family of South Sudanese refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. He and his family were fleeing the conflict in South Sudan, eventually settling in Adelaide, South Australia,[4] in 2003, when Deng was six years old.[5][6] His father remained in Kenya to serve as a doctor with Save the Children, and died in 2007.[7] His family moved to Melbourne, Victoria in 2011.[8]

Deng has four older siblings as well as a half-brother who lives in Uganda.[9] His older brother, Peter Deng, has represented South Sudan at senior level.[10]

Deng's first club, along with his good friend and fellow refugee Awer Mabil, was Adelaide Blue Eagles.[11]

Club career

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Western Eagles

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Deng made his senior football debut as a 16 year old in 2013 at Western Eagles under then-manager Srecko Barešić-Nikić in the Victorian State League Division 3.[12][13]

Green Gully

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The following season, the youngster moved to nearby Green Gully, where manager Bob Stojcevski recruited Deng to play for the club's u20 side. He was eventually promoted to the senior team and made 13 first team appearances in the NPL Victoria in 2014.[4]

Melbourne Victory

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Following his impressive performances at Gully, Melbourne Victory National Youth League coach Darren Davies rewarded Deng with a youth contract. Deng debuted for the senior team for Melbourne Victory against Balmain Tigers in the 2015 FFA Cup. He made his A-League debut on 9 October 2015 against Adelaide United, as a substitute replacing Fahid Ben Khalfallah after a red card was shown to Leigh Broxham. Thomas made his starting debut in the A-League for Melbourne Victory on 17 October 2015 in round 2 against town rivals, Melbourne City, where he was selected as Man of the Match by supporters and social media.

Jong PSV (loan)

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In June 2016, Deng moved to Jong PSV on a one-year loan deal.[14][15] After making five appearances, he returned to Melbourne Victory at the end of the season.[16]

Urawa Red Diamonds

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On 28 January 2020, Deng left Melbourne Victory to join Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds following his wonderful performance at the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship.[17] On 23 August in a league match against Vissel Kobe, he scored a goal in a 2–1 lost.

Albirex Niigata

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On 9 January 2022, Deng moved to J2 League club Albirex Niigata. In his first season at the club, he helped them to win the J2 League title thus gaining promotion to the top tier J1 League in 2023. On 6 January 2024, Deng's contract was extended for the 2024 season.[18]

Yokohama F. Marinos

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In January 2025, Deng left Albirex Niigata to join fellow J1 League club, Yokohama F. Marinos.[19]


International career

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A South Sudanese national at birth, Deng is eligible to play for Australia, Kenya and South Sudan.

Deng was part of the main squad of the Olyroos at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship and put on an extremely impressive display throughout the tournament, garnering high praise from respected Australian pundits: Geoff Fullgrabe, Alan Vucenik, and Craig Foster.

In October 2018, Deng was named in the Socceroos squad for their training camp in the UAE and their friendly against Kuwait. In the friendly he made his debut, together with fellow South Sudanese refugee and boyhood friend Awer Mabil.[20]

On 22 July 2021, Deng captained Australia in a historic 2–0 win over Argentina in the first group game of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, also winning the Player of the Match award.[21][22]

Deng was included in the Australian squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup but did not play a single match at both tournament.

Other appearances

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Deng has played in the African Nations Cup of South Australia.[23]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 10 June 2025[24][25][26][27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Western Eagles 2013[13] Victorian State League Division 4 14 2 0 0 — — — 14 2
Green Gully SC 2014[28] National Premier Leagues Victoria 13 0 0 0 — — — 13 0
Melbourne Victory youth 2015[29] National Premier Leagues Victoria 1 9 0 — — — 1[c] 0 10 0
Melbourne Victory 2015–16 A-League 13 0 3 0 — — — 16 0
2017–18 A-League 24 2 0 0 — 5[d] 0 — 29 2
2018–19 A-League 28 0 2 0 — 5[d] 0 — 35 0
2019–20 A-League 6 0 1 0 — — — 7 0
Total 71 2 6 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 87 2
Jong PSV (loan) 2016–17 Eerste Divisie 5 0 — — — — 5 0
Urawa Red Diamonds 2020 J1 League 19 1 — 0 0 — — 19 1
2021 J1 League 2 0 1 0 3 0 — — 6 0
Total 21 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 25 1
Albirex Niigata 2022 J2 League 8 0 0 0 — — — 8 0
2023 J1 League 26 0 1 0 2 0 — — 29 0
2024 J1 League 30 0 0 0 3 0 — — 33 0
Total 64 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 70 0
Yokohama F. Marinos 2025 J1 League 10 0 0 0 0 0 1[d] 0 — 11 0
Total 207 3 8 0 8 0 11 0 1 0 235 3
  1. ^ Includes FFA Cup and Emperor's Cup
  2. ^ Includes J.League Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in National Premier Leagues Victoria play-offs
  4. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in the AFC Champions League/AFC Champions League Elite

International

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As of 10 June 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia 2018 1 0
2019 0 0
2020 —
2021 0 0
2022 1 0
2023 1 0
2024 2 0
Total 5 0

Honours

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Melbourne Victory

Albirex Niigata

References

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  13. ^ a b John Punshon "http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/States/VIC/2013SD4WR.html"
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Further reading

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  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  • Thomas Deng at SoccerwayLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  • Thomas Deng at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  • Profile at Albirex Niigata

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