| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Jok Deng[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1997-03-20)20 March 1997 (age 28) | ||||||||||||||||
| 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
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| * 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 professionalsoccer player who plays as acentral defender forJ1 League clubYokohama F. Marinos. Born a South Sudanese refugee in Kenya, he has represented theAustralia national team.
Thomas Jok Deng was born 20 March 1997[citation needed] into a family ofSouth Sudanese refugees inNairobi, Kenya. He and his family were fleeing theconflict in South Sudan, eventually settling inAdelaide,South Australia,[4] in 2003, when Deng was six years old.[5][6] His father remained in Kenya to serve as a doctor withSave the Children, and died in 2007.[7] His family moved toMelbourne,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 representedSouth Sudan at senior level.[10]
Deng's first club, along with his good friend and fellow refugeeAwer Mabil, wasAdelaide Blue Eagles.[11]
Deng made his senior football debut as a 16 year old in 2013 atWestern Eagles under then-managerSrecko Barešić-Nikić in theVictorian State League Division 3.[12][13]
The following season, the youngster moved to nearbyGreen 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 theNPL Victoria in 2014.[4]
Following his impressive performances at Gully, Melbourne Victory National Youth League coachDarren Davies rewarded Deng with a youth contract. Deng debuted for the senior team forMelbourne Victory againstBalmain Tigers in the2015 FFA Cup. He made hisA-League debut on 9 October 2015 againstAdelaide United, as a substitute replacingFahid Ben Khalfallah after ared card was shown toLeigh Broxham. Thomas made his starting debut in theA-League for Melbourne Victory on 17 October 2015 in round 2 againsttown rivals,Melbourne City, where he was selected as Man of the Match by supporters and social media.
In June 2016, Deng moved toJong 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]
On 28 January 2020, Deng left Melbourne Victory to join Japanese clubUrawa Red Diamonds following his wonderful performance at the2020 AFC U-23 Championship.[17] On 23 August in a league match againstVissel Kobe, he scored a goal in a 2–1 lost.
On 9 January 2022, Deng moved toJ2 League clubAlbirex Niigata. In his first season at the club, he helped them to win theJ2 League title thus gaining promotion to the top tierJ1 League in 2023. On 6 January 2024, Deng's contract was extended for the 2024 season.[18]
In January 2025, Deng left Albirex Niigata to join fellow J1 League club, Yokohama F. Marinos.[19]
ASouth Sudanese national at birth, Deng is eligible to play forAustralia, Kenya andSouth Sudan.
Deng was part of the main squad of theOlyroos at the2016 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, andCraig Foster.
In October 2018, Deng was named in the Socceroos squad for their training camp in theUAE and their friendly againstKuwait. In the friendly he made his debut, together with fellow South Sudanese refugee and boyhood friendAwer Mabil.[20]
On 22 July 2021, Deng captained Australia in a historic 2–0 win over Argentina in the first group game of the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, also winning the Player of the Match award.[21][22]
Deng was included in the Australian squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup and the2023 AFC Asian Cup but did not play a single match at both tournament.
Deng has played in theAfrican Nations Cup of South Australia.[23]
| 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 | ||
| 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 | |
Melbourne Victory
Albirex Niigata
Australia squads | |||||||||||||
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