João Pedro (footballer, born 1998)

For other uses, see João Pedro.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is da Silva and the second or paternal family name is Freitas.

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

João Pedro signing with Benfica de Macau
Personal information
Full name	João Pedro da Silva Freitas
Date of birth	(1998-06-24) 24 June 1998 (age 27)
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 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

• Maybank Challenge Cup: 2025

Individual

• ASEAN All-Stars: 2025