# Kenza Dali

Kenza Dali (born 31 July 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the France national team.

## Early life

Dali was born in Sainte-Colombe, Rhône, and grew up in the suburbs of Lyon. She is of Algerian descent, with her father immigrating to France from Algeria at 18 years old. Dali lost her brother when she was 13 and subsequently saw her mother beat breast cancer. She has cited these moments as experiences which have strengthened her mentally. She started playing football at 6 years old and joined Olympique Lyonnais at the age of 11.

## Club career
### Lyon

Dali spent the majority of her career with Lyon playing on the club's reserve team in D3 Féminine, the third level of women's football in France. She signed her first professional contract at age 16, but only played one match with Lyon's first team.

### Rodez

On 25 July 2010, Dali was announced at Rodez.

### Paris Saint-Germain

Dali was announced at Paris Saint-Germain.

### Lyon

In the summer of 2016, Kenza Dali returned to her training club Olympique Lyon, where she subsequently found it difficult to secure a regular place, mainly due to a knee injury. Dali made her league debut against ASJ Soyaux-Charente on 11 September 2016.

#### Loan to Lille

On 17 January 2018, Dali was announced at Lille.

### Dijon

Dali made her league debut against Montpellier HSC on 25 August 2018.

### West Ham United

On 25 July 2019, Dali was announced at West Ham. She made her league debut against Arsenal on 8 September 2019. Dali scored her first league goal against Brighton on 13 October 2019, scoring a penalty in the 70th minute. On 21 May 2021, Dali was released by West Ham United.

### Everton

On 1 July 2021, Dali was announced at Everton. She made her league debut against Manchester City on 4 September 2021. Dali scored her first goal for Everton in the Women's FA Cup on 27 February 2022 against Charlton Athletic, scoring in the 34th minute.

### Aston Villa

On 5 August 2022, Dali was announced at Aston Villa. On 2 June 2023, Dali signed a new contract until June 2025 with the option of a further year. On 7 February 2024, in the 2023–24 Conti Cup quarterfinal against Brighton, Dali assisted the goal to tie the game 1-1, and her team later advanced on penalties. Dali scored in the 2-1 away victory against Everton.

### San Diego Wave FC

Dali joined National Women's Soccer League club San Diego Wave FC on 24 January 2025, signing a two-year contract with the team. She made her NWSL debut on 16 March, playing 90 minutes in San Diego's season opener against Angel City FC.

## International career

Dali was called up to the France national team for the first time in her career in 2014. She played her first game in a 2015 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Hungary, being substituted into the game in the 76th minute. She scored her first goal for the senior national team in a friendly match against Brazil.
On 30 May 2022, Dali was called up to the France squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.
Dali was included in the squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Dali was included in the squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 5 October 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Lyon | 2009–10 | Division 1 Féminine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rodez | 2010–11 | Division 1 Féminine | 22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2011–12 | Division 1 Féminine | 22 | 10 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 4 | 1 | 31 | 13 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2012–13 | Division 1 Féminine | 21 | 6 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 8 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2013–14 | Division 1 Féminine | 22 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 26 | 6 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2014–15 | Division 1 Féminine | 17 | 11 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 7 | 1 | 27 | 14 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2015–16 | Division 1 Féminine | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Total | Total | 89 | 36 | 18 | 6 | – | – | 16 | 2 | 123 | 44 |
| Lyon | 2016–17 | Division 1 Féminine | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Lyon | 2017–18 | Division 1 Féminine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lyon | Total | Total | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Lille (loan) | 2017–18 | Division 1 Féminine | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Dijon | 2018–19 | Division 1 Féminine | 17 | 6 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 9 |
| West Ham United | 2019–20 | Women's Super League | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | — | — | 18 | 7 |
| West Ham United | 2020–21 | Women's Super League | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 |
| West Ham United | Total | Total | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | — | — | 38 | 10 |
| Everton | 2021–22 | Women's Super League | 20 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 1 |
| Aston Villa | 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 21 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 7 |
| Aston Villa | 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 |
| Aston Villa | 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Aston Villa | Total | Total | 41 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1 | — | — | 57 | 8 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 234 | 55 | 34 | 13 | 21 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 305 | 76 |

### International

    As of match played 3 December 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| France | 2014 | 5 | 1 |
| France | 2015 | 9 | 1 |
| France | 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| France | 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| France | 2018 | 3 | 2 |
| France | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| France | 2020 | 6 | 1 |
| France | 2021 | 8 | 4 |
| France | 2022 | 10 | 1 |
| France | 2023 | 13 | 2 |
| France | 2024 | 13 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 75 | 13 |
    Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dali goal.
List of international goals scored by Kenza Dali :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 26 November 2014 | Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France | Brazil | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 March 2015 | Estádio Algarve, Loulé, Portugal | Denmark | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 9 October 2018 | Stade des Alpes, Grenoble, France | Cameroon | 4–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 9 October 2018 | Stade des Alpes, Grenoble, France | Cameroon | 5–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 1 December 2020 | Stade de la Rabine, Vannes, France | Kazakhstan | 6–0 | 12–0 | 2022 UEFA Women's Euro qualification |
| 6 | 10 June 2021 | Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg, France | Germany | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 22 October 2021 | Stade Dominique Duvauchelle, Créteil, France | Estonia | 11–0 | 11–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 26 October 2021 | Astana Arena, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 26 November 2021 | Stade de la Rabine, Vannes, France | Kazakhstan | 6–0 | 6–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 2 September 2022 | Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia | Estonia | 2–0 | 9–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 18 February 2023 | Stade Raymond Kopa, Angers, France | Uruguay | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2023 Tournoi de France |
| 12 | 8 August 2023 | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia | Morocco | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup |
| 13 | 25 July 2024 | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu, France | Colombia | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2024 Summer Olympics |