# Ion Nicolaescu

Ion Nicolaescu (born 7 September 1998) is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Heerenveen and the Moldova national team.
He is the all-time leading goal scorer for his country, and was named Moldovan Footballer of the Year in 2023 and 2024.

## Club career
### Zimbru Chișinău

On 20 May 2016, Nicolaescu made his professional debut for Zimbru Chișinău in the Divizia Națională against Academia Chișinău, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute. In the 2018 Moldovan National Division he scored 5 goals in 12 appearances and reached the final of the 2017–18 Moldovan Cup.

### Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Nicolaescu joined Shakhtyor Soligorsk in August 2018. However, he was used as substitute and didn't score a single goal for the Belarusian team. Out of his 15 appearances during two seasons he started in only three matches. In an interview, Nicolaescu said that this was due to the general director and the coach having a falling out. He won the 2018–19 Belarusian Cup, playing in the both legs of the quarter-finals.

### Vitebsk

In January 2020 Nicolaescu went on loan to the Belarusian team Vitebsk. He was the team's top goal scorer in the 2020 Belarusian Premier League, scoring 9 goals in 18 matches.

### DAC Dunajská Streda

Nicolaescu joined DAC Dunajská Streda of Fortuna Liga in September 2020. After mere two days with the club he contributed with two goals to a 5–3 victory over Jablonec, advancing the Slovak side to the Third Round of UEFA Europa League qualifying.

### Beitar Jerusalem

Nicolaescu scored 15 league goals and 3 goals in Israel State Cup at the 2022–23 season, helping Beitar Jerusalem win the Israeli State Cup. His three goals in the State Cup games, one against F.C. Kafr Qasim on 11 December 2022, one against Hapoel Afula, on 1 February 2023, during the 4–0 win and another goal at the finals against Maccabi Netanya. Nicolaescu scored 4 goals in a 6–3 win over Maccabi Netanya in an Israeli Premier League match.

### Heerenveen

On 7 August 2023, Dutch side Heerenveen announced they had signed Nicolaescu to a three-year contract. Five days later he scored the opening goal in his debut, a 3–1 win over RKC Waalwijk. On 31 August 2024 he scored a brace in a 4–0 win over NAC Breda after coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute. He scored the winner in his Derby of the North debut, a 2–1 win over Groningen.

## International career

Nicolaescu debuted for Moldova on 8 September 2018 against Luxembourg in 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute. He scored his first goal for the national team against Kosovo in 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, which was Moldova's only goal in the league phase. He was Moldova's top goal scorer in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification and 2022–23 UEFA Nations League, scoring 3 out of 5 and 4 out of 10 team's goals, respectively.
Nicolaescu became Moldova's top goal scorer after scoring his 11th and 12th goals in a 3–2 win over Poland in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. With 4 goals in the competition, he became the first Moldovan to be the top goal scorer of a qualifying group.

## Career statistics
### International

    As of match played 19 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Moldova | 2018 | 4 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2020 | 6 | 1 |
| Moldova | 2021 | 10 | 3 |
| Moldova | 2022 | 8 | 5 |
| Moldova | 2023 | 10 | 5 |
| Moldova | 2024 | 8 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 49 | 16 |
    Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nicolaescu goal.
List of international goals scored by Ion Nicolaescu :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 3 September 2020 | Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma, Italy | Kosovo | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C |
| 2 | 25 March 2021 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău, Moldova | Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 12 October 2021 | Turner Stadium, Be'er Sheva, Israel | Israel | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 15 November 2021 | Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria | Austria | 1–3 | 1–4 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 24 March 2022 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău, Moldova | Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League |
| 6 | 3 June 2022 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League D |
| 7 | 10 June 2022 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău, Moldova | Latvia | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League D |
| 8 | 14 June 2022 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău, Moldova | Andorra | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League D |
| 9 | 22 September 2022 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia | Latvia | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League D |
| 10 | 24 March 2023 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău, Moldova | Faroe Islands | 1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 11 | 20 June 2023 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău | Poland | 1–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 12 | 20 June 2023 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău | Poland | 2–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 13 | 12 October 2023 | Friends Arena, Stockholm, Sweden | Sweden | 1–2 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 14 | 15 October 2023 | Kazimierz Górski National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland | Poland | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 15 | 26 March 2024 | Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey | Cayman Islands | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 16 | 7 September 2024 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău, Moldova | Malta | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League D |

## Honours
### Club

Zimbru Chișinău
* Moldovan Cup runner-up: 2017–18
Shakhtyor Soligorsk
* Belarusian Premier League runner-up: 2018
* Belarusian Cup: 2018–19
DAC Dunajská Streda
* Slovak First Football League runner-up: 2020–21
Beitar Jerusalem
* Israel State Cup: 2022–23
* Israel Super Cup runner-up: 2023

### Individual

* Moldovan Footballer of the Year: 2023, 2024