Youssef En-Nesyri

Youssef En-Nesyri (pronounced ; born 1 June 1997) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Sevilla and the Morocco national team. He is known for his aerial game and heading ability.
En-Nesyri has spent his entire senior footballing career in Spain, representing Málaga, Leganés and Sevilla. He has made over 150 La Liga appearances and scored over 50 goals.
En-Nesyri made his international debut in 2016 aged 18, after previously being capped by the nation's youth teams at under-20 level. He was chosen in Morocco's squads for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022. He was also picked for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Club career
Málaga
After starting his youth career at Maghreb de Fès and Mohammed VI Football Academy, En-Nesyri joined Málaga CF for a fee of €125,000 in 2015. Initially assigned to the Juvenil squad, he made his senior debut for the reserves on 16 April 2016, scoring the last goal in a 3–1 Tercera División away win against Guadix CF. He netted back-to-back goals in the following three matches against CD Huétor Tájar, River Melilla CF and FC Vilafranca and went on to become an integral player for the reserve side which narrowly missed promotion to the Segunda División B.
On 8 July 2016, En-Nesyri was included in first team manager Juande Ramos' pre-season squad, and scored a double in a 4–0 friendly win against Algeciras CF eight days later.
On 23 August 2016, after scoring six goals during the pre-season, En-Nesyri agreed to a contract extension until 2020. Three days later he made his professional – and La Liga – debut, coming on as a late substitute for Keko in a 2–2 away draw against RCD Espanyol.
En-Nesyri scored his first professional goal on 21 September 2016, netting the winner in a 2–1 home victory against SD Eibar, after coming on as a substitute for Charles. He contributed with four goals in 25 league appearances during the 2017–18 campaign, as his side suffered relegation.
Leganés
On 17 August 2018, following Malaga's relegation from the La Liga, En-Nesyri signed a five-year contract with CD Leganés in the main category. He scored his first goals in his ninth game, to earn a 2–2 home draw with nearby Rayo Vallecano in the first leg of the last 32 of the Copa del Rey on 30 October, and on 23 November he netted his first league goal, the only one of a victory also at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque against a Deportivo Alavés team that was challenging for top spot.
In late January to February 2019, En-Nesyri scored six goals in three games as Leganés avoided defeat: a brace in a 2–2 draw with Eibar, the late winner at Rayo and then all three goals against Real Betis; this last result made him the first Pepinero to net a hat-trick in La Liga.
Sevilla
On 16 January 2020, Sevilla signed En-Nesyri from Leganés for a reported €20 million, on a contract lasting to June 2025; the Andalusians had recently sold their strikers Mu'nas Dabbur and Javier Hernández. He debuted two days later in a 2–1 loss at Real Madrid, as a 65th-minute substitute for Munir El Haddadi, and on his first start on 9 February he opened the scoring on a trip to Celta Vigo with the same result.
En-Nesyri made his debut in European competitions on 20 February 2020, in the UEFA Europa League last 32 first leg away to CFR Cluj in Romania. He scored the late equaliser in a 1–1 draw, that put his team through on the away goals rule. On 6 August 2020, he scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Roma in the round of 16. Sevilla went on to win the 2020 UEFA Europa League.
On 4 November 2020, En-Nesyri scored a brace in a 3–2 win over Krasnodar in the UEFA Champions League group stage, his first goals in the competition. On 8 December, he scored another brace in 3–1 away win over Rennes.
In January 2021, En-Nesyri scored hat-tricks in home wins over Real Sociedad (3–2) and Cádiz (3–0). On 9 March 2021, he scored a brace in a 2–2 away draw against Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16; however, Sevilla were eliminated as they lost 4–5 on aggregate. On 14 March, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 win over Real Betis in the Seville derby. On 4 April 2021, En-Nesyri marked his hundredth match played for the team against Barcelona. On 22 April 2021, En-Nesyri became the highest scoring Moroccan in La Liga history with his goal in a 1–0 victory against Levante. In the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League, En-Nesyri scored a brace in a 3–0 victory against Manchester United in the quarter-finals. Three days later, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Valencia. On 11 May 2023, En-Nesyri scored Sevilla's first leg goal in a 1–1 draw away at the Juventus Stadium against Juventus in the Europa League semi-finals.
In the 2023 UEFA Super Cup, En-Nesyri scored a goal in a 1–1 tie, before losing in penalties to Manchester City. On 4 october 2023, En-Nesyri scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against PSV in the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, Thus making him the best Moroccan scorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League with 9 goals, surpassing Marouane Chamakh, who scored 8 goals. On 1 November 2023, En-Nesyri was nominated for the 2023 African Footballer of the Year by CAF.
International career
After representing Morocco at under-20 level, En-Nesyri was called up to the full squad by manager Hervé Renard on 22 August 2016, for friendlies against Albania and São Tomé and Príncipe. He made his debut against the former nine days later, starting in a 0–0 draw at the Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër.
En-Nesyri was called up for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, and scored in the second group game in a 3–1 win over Togo. He was a late addition to the squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, at the expense of defender Badr Banoun. In the last group game against Spain at the Kaliningrad Stadium, he gave the team a late lead in a 2–2 draw.
At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, En-Nesyri scored the only goal of a win over the Ivory Coast to send the Atlas Lions into the last 16. There, he equalised against Benin as the game went to a penalty shootout, in which Saturnin Allagbé saved from him to knock the Moroccans out.
En-Nesyri was also called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. In his first game back after a long injury, he came on in the 65th minute for Ayoub El Kaabi and missed a penalty in a 2–0 win over Comoros. He scored the equaliser in a 2–1 win over Malawi in the last 16.
On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On 10 December, in their quarter-final match against Portugal, En-Nesyri jumped to score the lone goal to put Morocco through to the semi-finals, This made Morocco the first African-Arab team to qualify for the World Cup semi-final.
Personal life
On 9 September 2023, En-Nesyri along with his national teammates donated their blood for the needy affected by the 2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each En-Nesyri goal.
Honours
Sevilla
UEFA Europa League: 2019–20, 2022–23
UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 2020, 2023
Individual
Leganés Player of the Season: 2018–19
La Liga Player of the Month: January 2021, April 2023
France Football CAF Men Team of The Year: 2021
Cinco Estrellas Player of the Month: January 2019, February 2019
Castore Player of the Month: February 2023, April 2023, August 2023
Best Moroccan player abroad: 2022–23
Orders
Order of the Throne: 2022
References
External links
Profile at the Sevilla FC website
1997 births
Living people
Footballers from Fez, Morocco
Moroccan men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
La Liga players
Tercera División players
Mohammed VI Football Academy players
Atlético Malagueño players
Málaga CF players
CD Leganés players
Sevilla FC players
Morocco men's under-20 international footballers
Morocco men's international footballers
Moroccan expatriate men's footballers
Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
2017 Africa Cup of Nations players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
2019 Africa Cup of Nations players
2021 Africa Cup of Nations players
2022 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Europa League winning players