Zakaria Aboukhlal

Zakaria Aboukhlal (Arabic: زكريا أبوخلال; born 18 February 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as forward for Ligue 1 club Toulouse. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Morocco national team, having previously played for the Netherlands at various youth levels.

Zakaria Aboukhlal
Aboukhlal with Morocco in 2023
Personal information
Full name Zakaria Aboukhlal[1]
Date of birth (2000-02-18) 18 February 2000
Place of birth Gorinchem, Netherlands[2]
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Toulouse
Number 7
Youth career
GVV Unitas
GVV Raptim
2009–2017 Willem II
2017–2018 PSV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Jong PSV 25 (9)
2019 PSV 2 (0)
2019–2022 Jong AZ 19 (13)
2019–2022 AZ 69 (9)
2022– Toulouse 37 (10)
International career‡
2016–2017 Netherlands U17 12 (5)
2017 Netherlands U18 4 (4)
2017–2019 Netherlands U19 10 (2)
2019 Netherlands U20 5 (1)
2020– Morocco 17 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 December 2022

Club career

PSV

Aboukhlal made his professional debut for Jong PSV in a 2–1 Eerste Divisie win over FC Eindhoven on 17 August 2018.[4]

AZ

In August 2019, after making only two appearances for PSV's senior side, Aboukhlal transferred to Eredivisie rivals AZ Alkmaar in a deal worth €2 million.[5] In a match for Jong AZ on 9 December 2019, he scored all four of his team's goals in a win against Helmond Sport.[6]

Toulouse

On 24 June 2022, Aboukhlal signed with French club Toulouse.[7] In his first season at the club, he won the Coupe de France. He scored a 79th-minute goal in the 2023 Coupe de France final to help his club beat defending champions Nantes 5–1.[8]

Aboukhlal warming up for Toulouse in 2023

International career

Born in the Netherlands, Aboukhlal was born to a Moroccan mother and Libyan father.[9] He is a former youth international for the Netherlands. He decided not to represent the Netherlands but the Morocco national team because of his growing up among the Moroccan community residing in the Netherlands, he was called up to represent in November 2020.[10] He was called up for the Libyan National Team but refused. Aboukhlal debuted for Morocco in a 4–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Central African Republic on 13 November 2020, and scored his side's fourth goal in his debut.[11]

On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[12][13] He scored his first goal in the World Cup against Belgium on 27 November 2022.

Controversy

On 14 May 2023, Aboukhlal refused to represent Toulouse in a Ligue 1 match against Nantes due to the game being a part of a league-wide campaign against homophobia, meaning all teams' kits for the week featured rainbow-themed decorations.[14][15] He was in the same week accused by several news outlets, of having been been involved in an alleged sexist altercation with Toulouse's female deputy major Laurence Arribagé, during Toulouse's Coupe de France title festivities at the city hall in April. Aboukhlal, who was alleged to have told Arribagé that women should behave in a subservient manner to men after Arribagé had asked some of the players to tone down their loud behaviour, was temporarily suspended from all first team activities.[16][17][18] Following this accusation, Aboukhlal tweeted: "Following the article published by RMC on Monday, May 15th, I had the opportunity to meet and discuss with Laurence Arribagé. During this meeting, we both confirmed the RMC sport report does not match what has really happened on 30th of April at the Capitole. We would like to put an end to this controversy which has strongly affected both of us as well as our families. Thank you for respecting our decision."[19][20] Aboukhlal was reinstated to the team.

Career statistics
Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Aboukhlal goal.[21]
List of international goals scored by Zakaria Aboukhlal
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
113 November 2020Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco Central African Republic4–14–12021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
214 January 2022Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon Comoros2–02–02021 Africa Cup of Nations
327 November 2022Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar Belgium2–02–02022 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Toulouse

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Morocco (MAR)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 19. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. "Kennismaken met Zakaria Aboukhlal". www.psv.nl. 8 January 2019.
  3. "Zakaria Aboukhlal | Toulouse FC". Toulouse FC. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  4. "PSV II vs. Eindhoven - 17 August 2018". Soccerway.
  5. "Aboukhlal leaves PSV for AZ Alkmaar". Football Oranje. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  6. "AZ II VS. HELMOND SPORT 4 - 1". Soccerway. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  7. "ZAKARIA ABOUKHLAL PREMIÈRE RECRUE DU MERCATO ESTIVAL" (in French). Toulouse FC. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  8. "Nantes 1-5 Toulouse: Toulouse win first major trophy in French Cup final". BBC. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  9. "PSV Eindhoven youngster Zakaria Aboukhlal wanted by Libya". African Football.
  10. "Portrait. Qui est Zakaria Aboukhlal, le nouveau Lion de l'Atlas?". Le360 Sport.
  11. Tomegah, Rodolph (13 November 2020). "Elim.CAN 2021 : Hakim Ziyech porte le Maroc contre la Centrafrique".
  12. "Morocco World Cup 2022 squad: Who's in and who's out? | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  13. "Moroccan coach unveils list of 26 Atlas Lions in 2022 World Cup". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  14. "Two Ligue 1 players refuse to play in protest at anti-homophobia campaign". France 24. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  15. "Toulouse players left out of squad after refusal to offer LGBT support". The Guardian. 14 May 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  16. "Scandal at Toulouse: In my house, women don't talk to men like that". Marca. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  17. "Toulouse: Aboukhlal mis à l'écart suite à son altercation avec une élue lors des festivités de la Coupe de France". RMC SPORT (in French). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  18. "Aboukhlal training alone after altercation claims". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  19. Kasraoui, Safaa. "Zakaria Aboukhlal's Clarification Exposes RMC Claims". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  20. "Morocco's Aboukhlal draws line under dispute with Toulouse city official". Reuters. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  21. "Zakaria Aboukhlal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  22. Mayen, Philippe (29 April 2023). "Ô Toulouse... FC !" [O Toulouse...FC!!]. FFF - Fédération Française de Football (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2023.
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