Youssef Msakni

Youssef Msakni (Arabic: يوسف المساكني‎; born 28 October 1990) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Al-Duhail, and the Tunisia national team.

Youssef Msakni
Youssef Msakni in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-10-28) 28 October 1990
Place of birth Tunis, Tunisia
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Winger, forward
Club information
Current team
 Al-Duhail
Number 28
Youth career
2004–2007 Stade Tunisien
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2013 Espérance Tunis 132 (46)
2013– Al-Duhail 114 (73)
2019 → Eupen (loan) 7 (1)
National team‡
2006–2007 Tunisia U17 13 (3)
2010– Tunisia 62 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:32, 27 May 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:54, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

He has played 62 games and scored 11 goals for Tunisia.[1]

Club career

ES Tunis

Having spent his youth career Stade Tunisien, Msakni moved to Espérance Sportive de Tunis in July 2008.

He played his first game with ES Tunis on 26 July 2009, on the first day of the 2019–10 season, against Olympique Béja. He entered the field in the 79th minute of play in replacement of Henri Bienvenu Ntsama. Two weeks later, on 8 August, Msakni scored his first league goal in his third game against AS Kasserine in the 54th minute of play of a 4–0 win.

On 12 November 2011, he won the CAF Champions League, finishing second in the competition with five goals, just behind Wydad Casablanca striker Fabrice Ondama, who scored six goals.

On 30 September 2012, he won the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 for the fourth time, winning the title of best scorer in the Tunisian football championship with 17 goals. According to Goal.com, Msakni is the 48th best footballer of the 2012 season in all countries, thanks in particular to the performances realized under the colors of his club or the national team. During the transfer period, he is courted by many French clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Lille OSC, AS Monaco and FC Lorient, but on 3 July 2012 the attacking midfielder signed on a four-year contract with Qatari Stars League club Lekhwiya SC, but he joined the club on 1 January 2013.[2].

Lekhwiya and Al Duhail

On 1 January 2013, Msakni became a player of Qatari club Lekhwiya SC for a period of four and a half years; the total amount of the transfer was 23 million dinars (€11.5 million), a record for an African player.

On 10 February, he scored his first goal in the 28th minute, with his team winning 4–0 against Al-Wakrah SC. On 26 February, Msakni proved decisive in the AFC Champions League with a free-kick in the 33rd minute, allowing his team to win 2–1. In March 2013, Msakni was reportedly coveted by four English clubs: Newcastle United, Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham. This growing interest pushed the Qatari club leaders to review the player's release clause by increasing his price. On 4 May, he won the 2013 Qatar Crown Prince Cup against the Al Sadd after scoring his team's third goal in a 3–2 win.

A complicated start to the 2013–14 season, during which he scored 7 goals in 12 league games, the Qatari media linked him with a departure to Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

The start of the Asian campaign begins on 8 February 2014 for Msakni and his team-mates: they opposed the Bahraini team Hidd SCC in the second round of the 2014 AFC Champions League; they won the match 2–1, including a decisive pass from the Tunisian striker. A week later, Lekhwiya SC competed in the third preliminary round of the same competition against Kuwaiti club Kuwait SC, where two of his team-mates in Tunisia, Issam Jemâa and Chadi Hammami played. Msakni scored a goal and delivered two assists.

After the team changed its name from Lekhwiya to Al Duhail, he received offers from Olympique de Marseille and teams playing La Liga but he preferred to stay in Qatar and play in Europe after 2018 FIFA World Cup.

On 8 April 2018, it was reported that Msakni would miss this summer's World Cup in Russia after being ruled out for six months because of a knee injury.[3]

Msakni was linked with a move to Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion in December 2018.[4] In January 2019 he moved on loan to Belgian First Division A side K.A.S. Eupen.[5]

International career

On 14 December 2009, he received his first call-up to the Tunisia national team from coach Faouzi Benzarti for a friendly against Gambia in preparation for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. On 9 January 2010, at Stade El Menzah. He entered the field in the 35th minute following Oussama Darragi's injury.

On 25 February 2011, he won the CHAN with Tunisia on a 3–0 victory over Angola; he scored a single goal during this competition, against Angola but this time in the group stage.

On 7 October 2017, Msakni scored a hat-trick against Guinea in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

CAN 2010

Msakni played his first Africa Cup of Nations at only 19 years old and held a place in the Benzarti squad. In the first match, against Zambia, he delivered a decisive pass to Zouheir Dhaouadi, offering him the goal of the equalizer. He was one of the players in the match against Gabon, and was replaced in the 67th minute by Chaouki Ben Saada. However, he did not participate in the elimination of his team against Cameroon.

CAN 2012

In the first game against Morocco, he scored in the 75th minute of play by eliminating two opponents, dribbling them one after the other before striking a cross hit of the right, which allowed Tunisia to win the match 2–1. In the second game against Niger, he opened the score in the fourth minute of play by passing through three opponents before entering the surface and scoring right; Tunisia took a 2–1 lead and qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The third match was difficult for Tunisia and lost 0–1 against Gabon. The quarter-finals between Tunisia and Ghana when Tunisia was eliminated from the competition.

CAN 2013

Following a difficult qualification at 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Sierra Leone, Msakni was a part of the group in South Africa. On 22 January, in the first match of Group D against Algeria, he scored in the 90th minute by undoing a 25-meter rolled strike that is lodged in the goal of Raïs M'Bolhi, allowing Tunisians to win the match 1–0). He e was elected as the man of the match and the scorer of the most beautiful goal of the competition. Once again in the second match, Msakni and his team-mates lost 0–3 against the Ivory Coast. In the last game of group stage, Tunisia drew 1–1 with Togo and finished third in Group D.

CAN 2015

Msakni took part in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, where he played in the first match against Cape Verde replacing Wahbi Khazri in the 82nd minute. He played the full match of his team's 2–1 win against Zambia. He was a substitute at the last match in the group stage against DR Congo replacing Mohamed Ali Yacoubi in the 104th minute in extra time against Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-finals. Tunisia lost 1–2.

CAN 2017

Msakni played a major role in qualifying for the tournament after scoring against Togo in Monastir. He was also one of the leading players in the group stage after delivering an assist against Algeria in the 50th minute which they won 2–1 and scoring a goal against Zimbabwe in the 22nd minute of a 4–2 win. Tunisia was eliminated in the quarter-finals against Burkina Faso after losing 0–2.

Personal life

Msakni is the younger brother of fellow Tunisian international Iheb[6], and he is the son of former Stade Tunisien player Mondher Msakni.

On 4 July 2017, Msakni married the Tunisian actress and fashion model Amira Jaziri.

Career statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stade Tunisien 2006–07 Ligue Professionnelle 1 102000000102
2007–08 Ligue Professionnelle 1 186000000186
Espérance 2007–08 Ligue Professionnelle 1 100000000100
2008–09 Ligue Professionnelle 1 304000000304
2009–10 Ligue Professionnelle 1 2260010000326
2010–11 Ligue Professionnelle 1 241000115003515
2011–12 Ligue Professionnelle 1 281700104304121
2012–13 Ligue Professionnelle 1 1000000010
Lekhwiya 2012–13 Qatar Stars League 74009400168
2013–14 Qatar Stars League 22120081003013
2014–15 Qatar Stars League 167005200219
Career total 188680053163024484

International
As of matches played on 26 November 2019[1]
Tunisia national team
YearAppsGoals
201060
201100
201293
201391
201430
201560
201621
2017114
201810
2019152
Total6211

International goals
Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first.[1]
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.23 January 2012Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville, Gabon Morocco2–02–12012 Africa Cup of Nations
2.27 January 2012 Niger1–02–1
3.8 September 2012National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone Sierra Leone2–22–22013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.22 January 2013Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng, South Africa Algeria1–01–02013 Africa Cup of Nations
5.25 March 2016Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia Togo1–01–02017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6.23 January 2017Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville, Gabon Zimbabwe2–04–22017 Africa Cup of Nations
7.7 October 2017Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea Guinea1–14–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.2–1
9.4–1
10.25 June 2019Suez Stadium, Suez, Egypt Angola1–01–12019 Africa Cup of Nations
11.11 July 2019Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Madagascar2–03–02019 Africa Cup of Nations
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gollark: My server is available! Unfortunately nobody likes it, but you know.

References
  1. "Youssef Msakni". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. Mohamad Mosselhi (3 July 2012) Tunisia forward Msakni joins Qatar's Lekhwiya for Arab record sum. Ahram Online
  3. "Youssef Msakni: Tunisia forward will miss World Cup because of knee injury". BBC Sport. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  4. Al Laithy, Abdo (24 December 2018). "Brighton close to sealing Msakni loan deal". Goal. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  5. Okeleji, Oluwashina (10 January 2019). "Youssef Msakni: Tunisia star happy to join Belgium's Eupen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. "Esperance out to join elite group". FIFA. 16 November 2012.
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