Tete Yengi

Tete Yengi
Yengi with Australia in 2026
Personal information
Full name Tete Owen Yengi
Date of birth (2000-11-28) 28 November 2000
Place of birth Adelaide, Australia
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position Striker
Team information
Current team
 Machida Zelvia
Number 99
Youth career
SA NTC
2015–2016 Croydon Kings
2017–2019 Adelaide Comets
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Adelaide Comets 38 (9)
2020–2021 Newcastle Jets 9 (0)
2021 → Newcastle Jets NPL 1 (7)
2021–2024 Ipswich Town 0 (0)
2022 → VPS (loan) 27 (7)
2023 → Northampton Town (loan) 16 (0)
2023 → KuPS (loan) 11 (1)
2024–2026 Livingston 66 (11)
2026 → Machida Zelvia (loan) 15 (3)
2026– Machida Zelvia 1 (1)
International career‡
2026– Australia 3 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 7 July 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 June 2026

Tete Owen Yengi (born 28 November 2000) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for J1 League club Machida Zelvia and the Australia national team. Yengi has previously played for Newcastle Jets, Ipswich Town, VPS, Northampton Town, KuPS and Livingston.

Early life and education

Tete Owen Yengi was born on born 28 November 2000[1] in Adelaide, South Australia, of South Sudanese and English descent.[2] His father, refugee advocate Ben Yengi, was from South Sudan, and Tete lived for some years in South Sudan as a child, as Ben was determined to help that country, and the lives of friends and family, after having received a good education and employment in Australia.[3]

Tete and his older brother Kusini were always keen on football, and worked hard to their goal of becoming international players.[3] As of 2026 Kusini plays as a forward in the J1 League, at Cerezo Osaka on loan from Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen.[4]

After the world cup 2026, Tete announced he has converted to Islam after reciting Shahada in Adelaide mosque.[5]

Club career

Newcastle Jets

After playing two seasons at a semi-pro level with Adelaide Comets in NPL SA, Yengi signed a scholarship deal with Australian top division side Newcastle Jets on 30 December 2020.[6] He made a total of nine appearances in A-League during the 2020–21 season.[7]

Ipswich Town and loans

In September 2021, Yengi moved to England and signed for League One club Ipswich Town on a one-year deal with the option for a further year, initially joining the team's Under 23 side.[8][9]

VPS (loan)

In April 2022, Yengi joined Vaasan Palloseura (VPS) on loan for the 2022 season.[10] During his time in Finland, Yengi scored seven goals and assisted a further eleven in Veikkausliiga, winning his club's Player of the Year award.[11]

Northampton Town (loan)

On 31 January 2023, Yengi signed a new eighteen-month contract and subsequently joined League Two club Northampton Town on loan until the end of the season.[12][13]

KuPS (loan)

On 16 July 2023, Yengi returned to Finland and signed a loan deal with Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) for the remainder of the 2023 season.[14]

Livingston

On 1 January 2024, a Scottish Premiership club Livingston announced the signing of Yengi on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[15] Yengi made his debut the following day in a 1-2 home defeat against Hearts and scored his first Livi goal in the next league match, a penalty in a 1-4 home defeat by Dundee. He added a further three league goals, opening the scoring on each occasion, in a 1-0 home win against St Mirren, a 1-3 home defeat by Motherwell and a 5-1 loss away to Aberdeen.[16] Despite Yengi's four goals in 16 games, at the end of the 2024-25 season, Livingston were relegated to the Scottish Championship after finishing bottom of the Premiership. In the Scottish Cup, Yengi added two memorable goals to his tally. Firstly in the fifth round, he headed home a 120th minute winner in a tie away to Partick Thistle, before equalizing to make the score 2-2 in an eventual 4-2 sixth round away defeat against Premiership champions Celtic at Celtic Park.[17]

In the 2024-25 season Yengi competed with Stevie May and Robbie Muirhead for a place in the team, starting the fewest matches of the three, but played 42 times across all competitions and scored 10 goals. Notably he scored in the Scottish Challenge Cup final, a 5-0 win over Queen's Park, and in the second-leg of the Premiership Play-off final, a 2-4 victory against Ross County to seal promotion back to the top flight.[18][19]

Machida Zelvia (loan)

On 28 January 2026, Yengi moved to J1 League side Machida Zelvia on loan until 30 June 2026, with an option to buy.[20] On 17 April 2026, Yengi scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win vs Al Ittihad in the AFC Champions League Quarter-Final. In July 2026, Livingston confirmed that Yengi had transferred to Machida Zelvia on a permanent basis.[21]

Machida Zelvia

On 8 August 2026, Yengi started for Machida Zelvia's opening match and scored in a 1-5 away victory over FC Tokyo

International career

Yengi was named in the Australia's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite never having been capped at international level.[22][23] He is one of five players from Adelaide in the team.[3]

Yengi scored the equalising goal on his international debut in a friendly against Switzerland on 6 June 2026.[24]

Career statistics

As of 8 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Newcastle Jets 2020–21 A-League Men 900000——90
Ipswich Town 2021–22 League One 000000—0000
VPS (loan) 2022 Veikkausliiga 2773100——308
Northampton Town (loan) 2022–23 League Two 1600000—00160
KuPS (loan) 2023 Veikkausliiga 11100002[c]0—131
Livingston 2023–24 Scottish Premiership 1642200——186
2024–25 Scottish Championship 3153340–4[d]24210
2025–26 Scottish Premiership 1921030–—232
Total 6611657000428318
Machida Zelvia 2026 J1 100 Year Vision League 153000000—226
2026-27 J League 11000000—11
Career total 145238670934217634

International

As of match played 25 June 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Australia 202631
Total31
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yengi goal.
List of international goals scored by Tete Yengi
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
16 June 2026Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, United States1  Switzerland1–11–1Friendly

Honours

Livingston

References

  1. ↑ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup 2026: Australia (AUS)" (PDF). FIFA. 3 June 2026. p. 3. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Special feature: The record cohort giving 'millions of us' a new perspective on Australia". 16 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Prosser, Candice; Jaffari, Madina (12 June 2026). "Socceroos Mo Touré and Tete Yengi to realise World Cup dreams". ABC News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Aberdeen's Kusini Yengi goes on loan to Japan". BBC Sport. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  5. ↑ Shahid, Warda (10 July 2026). "Australian Footballer Tete Yengi Embraces Islam After Adelaide Mosque Visit". The Islamic Information. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Yengi and Armson sign scholarship deals". newcastlejetsfc.com.au. Newcastle Jets FC. 30 December 2020 [30 December 2020]. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  7. ↑ Paquette, Catherine (28 September 2021). "Newcastle Jets A-League Attacker Becomes Second Aussie at Ipswich Town". FTBL. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "New arrival Yengi on bench for U23s". Ipswich Town FC. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Paquette, Catherine (28 September 2021). "Newcastle Jets A-League attacker becomes second Aussie at Ipswich Town". FTBL. Archived from the original on 24 November 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Tete Yengi Vepsuun!". vepsu.fi (in Finnish). 6 April 2022 [6 April 2022]. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Watson, Stuart (10 November 2022). "Ipswich Town: Tete Yengi named Player of Year in Finland". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Northampton Town Sign Tete Yangi on Loan From Ipswich Town". www.ntfc.co.uk. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "New Deal and Cobblers Loan for Tete". www.itfc.co.uk. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Tervetuloa Keltamustiin Tete Yengi". kups.fi. 16 July 2023 [16 July 2023].
  15. ↑ "Livingston sign Australian striker Tete Yengi from Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Aberdeen 5-1 Livingston: Dons continue fine form by punishing Livi". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  17. ↑ "Celtic 4-2 Livingston". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "Queen's Park vs Livingston: SPFL Trust Trophy final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "Ross County 2-4 Livingston (3-5 agg)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  20. ↑ Black, Dave (28 January 2026). "Squad Update | Yengi heads to Japan on loan". Livingston FC. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "Tete Yengi Departs for Machida Zelvia". Livingston F.C. 13 July 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "World Cup 2026: Uncapped Tete Yengi and Cristian Volpato make Australia squad". BBC Sport. 31 May 2026.
  23. ↑ Football Australia (1 June 2026). "Tete Yengi: It's a great feeling to be here with the CommBank Socceroos | Press Conference" – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "Socceroos draw with Swiss in final World Cup warm-up". ESPN. 6 June 2026.
  25. ↑ Thomson, Paul. "Queen's Park 0 Livingston 5: Lions rampant as they seal first cup win in 10 years with five-star show". Daily Record.
  26. ↑ "Ross County 2–4 Livingston". BBC. 26 May 2025.
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