Maki Madani Tall (born October 30, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward who plays for Barœul.

Maki Tall
Personal information
Full name Maki Madani Tall
Date of birth (1995-10-30) October 30, 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Washington, D.C., United States
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Barœul
Number 9
Youth career
2004–2008 Génération Foot
2008–2009 Club La Pépinière
2009–2013 Le Mans
2013–2014 Lille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Lille B 14 (0)
2015Red Star (loan) 2 (0)
2015–2016 Sion II 3 (0)
2016–2018 Tours B 23 (13)
2016–2018 Tours 19 (2)
2018–2020 Ajaccio 0 (0)
2019–2020 Ajaccio B 9 (3)
2020–2022 Francs Borains 8 (0)
2022–2023 KVC Winkel Sport 31 (6)
2023– Barœul 4 (4)
International career
2013 France U18 5 (2)
2013 France U19 3 (0)
2014 Ivory Coast U20 1 (1)
2015 United States U20 3 (3)
2015 United States U23 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:27, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

Born in the United States, Tall is of Ivorian descent.[1] He has represented France, the Ivory Coast, and the United States at youth international level.

Club career

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Tall first joined Génération Foot in 2004, when he and his family were living in Senegal. Four years later, he moved to Ivory Coast and joined local Abidjan-based side Club La Pépinière.[2] It was during this time in Ivory Coast that he began trialing with a number of French clubs. He eventually joined Le Mans as an under-15, and excelled at youth level, finishing numerous youth seasons as his side's top scorer.[2][3]

He signed a professional contract with Lille in 2013, amid rumours that Le Mans were going to go bankrupt.[4] In 2015 he was loaned to Championnat National side Red Star on a six-month loan, but only managed 2 appearances, totaling 15 minutes, before returning to Lille.[5][6][7]

Tall joined Swiss side FC Sion in July 2015 from Lille.[7][8] However, he only featured for the club's 'B' team, before being released a year later in July 2016.

Preceding his release from Sion, he returned to France to join Tours, where he spent a highly successful 2016–17 season with the club's 'B' team, scoring 10 times in 18 appearances. He was given his first team professional debut on the last day of the season, replacing Cheick Fantamady Diarra after 54 minutes against AC Ajaccio. Despite his team losing the game 3–2, Tall was credited for a good performance, which he capped by scoring a debut goal.[9][10]

In September 2018, he joined AC Ajaccio on a free transfer.[11]

On July 24, 2020, Tall signed with Belgian National Division 1 side Francs Borains.[12] In January 2022 his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[13]

On January 31, 2022, Tall signed with Sint-Eloois-Winkel Sport.[14] He scored his first goal for Winkel Sport against RFC Liége on March 6, 2022.

On July 14, 2023, Tall signed with Olympique Marcq-en-Barœul, who play in the Championnat National 2, the fourth level of the French football pyramid.[15]

International career

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Tall is eligible to represent Ivory Coast, France and the United States, and has featured for all three at youth level. He played five games for the France under-18 side and three for the under-19s, totaling 2 goals.[4][16] He was called up to the Ivory Coast under-20 side for a training camp in December 2014, and scored in a friendly against Senegal.[1][17]

He marked his debut for the United States under-20 side with a goal in a 2–1 away friendly loss to England U20 in March 2015.[4] He represented the United States at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring against Myanmar before injury forced him to miss the remainder of the tournament.[18][19]

He has also represented the United States at under-23 level, featuring in two qualifying games for the 2016 Summer Olympics against Cuba and Panama.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Maki Tall sélectionné par les USA". Espoirs du Football (in French). March 22, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Pro Prospects: Le Mans' Maki ready for call". Top Drawer Soccer. September 27, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  3. ^ "A Tall Order". DMV Soccer. August 6, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Profile". United States Soccer Federation. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  5. ^ "Lille's Maki Tall loaned out to Red Star FC". Get Football News France. January 6, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  6. ^ "Nat : Maki Tall, nouvelle recrue du Red Star". Red Star F.C. (in French). January 6, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "U-20 USMNT forward Maki Tall signs with FC Sion". SBI Soccer. July 21, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  8. ^ "Maki Tall (Lille) au FC Sion". L'Equipe (in French). July 22, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  9. ^ "Le TFC s'est fait piéger". La Nouvelle République (in French). May 20, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "L'ACA finit sur une bonne note face à Tours (3-2)". Corse Net Infos (in French). May 19, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  11. ^ "Maki Tall s'engage avec l'AC ajaccio". alta-frequenza.corsica. September 5, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  12. ^ "Les Francs-Borains attirent un attaquant de Ligue 2, international olympique américain". July 24, 2020.
  13. ^ "Mercato | Départ de Tall". Royal Francs Borains (in French). January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  14. ^ "Maki Madani Tall (Winkel): "Samenspel moet nog beter"". www.nieuwsblad.be (in Flemish). January 30, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Marcant, Raphael (July 14, 2023). "Maki Tall (ex-LOSC) rejoint l'Olympique Marcquois". Le petit Lillois (in French). Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  16. ^ "Profile". French Football Federation. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  17. ^ "Maki Tall, 19, Scores in Debut for U.S. Under-20s". American Soccer Now. April 1, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  18. ^ "United States 2, Myanmar 1 - U-20 World Cup Match Recap". MLS Soccer. May 30, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  19. ^ "U.S. forward Maki Tall out for rest of U-20 World Cup with fractured toe". Sports Illustrated. June 3, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
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