Zakaria Aboukhlal

Zakaria Aboukhlal (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.
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.
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. 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.
Toulouse
On 24 June 2022, Aboukhlal signed with French club Toulouse. 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.
International career
Born in the Netherlands, Aboukhlal was born to a Moroccan mother and Libyan father. 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. 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.
On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 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. 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. 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." 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.
Honours
Toulouse
Coupe de France: 2022–23
References
External links
Career stats - Voetbal International
Ons Oranje O19 Profile
Ons Oranje O18 Profile
Ons Oranje O17 Profile
2000 births
Living people
Footballers from Gorinchem
Moroccan men's footballers
Dutch men's footballers
Morocco men's international footballers
Men's association football forwards
Netherlands men's youth international footballers
Moroccan people of Libyan descent
Dutch people of Libyan descent
Dutch sportspeople of Moroccan descent
PSV Eindhoven players
Jong PSV players
AZ Alkmaar players
Jong AZ players
Toulouse FC players
Eredivisie players
Eerste Divisie players
Ligue 1 players
2021 Africa Cup of Nations players
2022 FIFA World Cup players
Moroccan expatriate men's footballers
Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate men's footballers in France