# Yassine Meriah

Yassine Meriah (Arabic: ياسين مرياح; born 2 July 1993) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 club Espérance de Tunis, whom he captains, and the Tunisia national team.

## Club career

Mariah was formed in AS Ariana, the team that was active in the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2. In the 2013–14 season, he was transferred to ES Métlaoui when he was 20 years old. After spending two seasons with the team, he was prominently featured and invited to the Tunisian Olympic team. He attracted the attention of the officials of CS Sfaxien, one of the most important teams in the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 who sought to sign with him, starting from the 2014–15 season. From his first season with CS Sfaxien, Meriah was a key figure in the squad and played in many of the team's defensive positions.

### Olympiacos

On 28 July 2018, Meriah joined Olympiacos for an estimated transfer fee of €1,500,000, signing a four-year contract. On 2 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 home win against PAS Giannina.
On 31 January 2020, Meriah officially loaned in Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa, until the end of the 2019–20 season, with a €5 million buyout clause expected in the summer. Meriah started this year as de facto leader in Olympiakos defence, having a great presence in the Champions League qualifiers. Later, however, there were some games in which he made mistakes, so he was sidelined. On 13 September 2020, he signed a long season loan with another Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor.

### Al Ain

On 28 July 2021, Meriah joined Al Ain for a reported transfer fee of €2 million signing a two-year contract.

### Espérance de Tunis

On 4 August 2022, Meriah joined Espérance de Tunis as a free agent signing a two-year contract.

## International career

Meriah's success with his club led him to the Tunisia national team for the first time by coach Georges Leekens on 13 June 2015 against Morocco in 2016 African Nations Championship qualification.
He scored his first goal against DR Congo in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.
In May 2018 he was named in Tunisia's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In June 2019 he was named in Tunisia's final 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 26 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| ES Métlaoui | 2013–14 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 |
| ES Métlaoui | 2014–15 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 |
| ES Métlaoui | Total | Total | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 28 | 0 |
| CS Sfaxien | 2014–15 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 |
| CS Sfaxien | 2015–16 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 0 |
| CS Sfaxien | 2016–17 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 3 |
| CS Sfaxien | 2017–18 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 1 |
| CS Sfaxien | Total | Total | 81 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 95 | 6 |
| Olympiacos | 2018–19 | Super League Greece | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 |
| Olympiacos | 2019–20 | Super League Greece | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| Olympiacos | Total | Total | 23 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 1 |
| Kasımpaşa (loan) | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 |
| Rizespor (loan) | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 1 |
| Al Ain | 2021–22 | UAE Pro League | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 2022–23 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 3 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 2023–24 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 8 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 2024–25 | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| Espérance de Tunis | Total | Total | 52 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 93 | 14 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 234 | 19 | 19 | 1 | 56 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 312 | 23 |
* ↑ Appearances in CAF Confederation Cup
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* 1 2 Appearances in CAF Champions League
* ↑ Fourteen appearances and two goals in CAF Champions League, four appearances in African Football League
* ↑ Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup

### International

    Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Meriah goal.
List of international goals scored by Yassine Meriah :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 1 September 2017 | Olympic Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia | DR Congo | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 13 October 2018 | Olympic Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia | Niger | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 22 March 2019 | Olympic Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia | Eswatini | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4 | 17 November 2023 | Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia | São Tomé and Príncipe | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 15 October 2024 | Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast | Comoros | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |

## Honours

Olympiacos
* Greek Football Cup: 2019–20
Al Ain
* UAE League Cup: 2021–22
* UAE Pro League: 2021–22
Espérance de Tunis
* Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2023–24
* Tunisian Super Cup: 2024
Individual
* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2019