Zakaria El Ouahdi (born 31 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-winger or a right-back. for Belgian Pro League club Genk. Born in Belgium, he represents Morocco internationally at youth level.
 El Ouahdi in 2021. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 31 December 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Hoboken, Belgium | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right-winger, right-back | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Genk | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 77 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Beerschot VAC | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Zulte Waregem | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Manchester IFA | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | K. Berchem Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | K. Rupel Boom | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | RWD Molenbeek | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | RWD Molenbeek | 51 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Genk | 36 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Morocco U23 | 19 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 August 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editEl Ouahdi was born in Hoboken in the Antwerp Province in a family of eight children. His parents are of Moroccan descent.[1]
Club career
editIn June 2021, El Ouadhi joined the under-21 side of RWD Molenbeek.[2] After good performances, El Ouadhi was regularly invited to train with the first team, and was awarded his first professional contract on 9 September 2021.[3]
On 14 August 2021, he made his professional debut in Challenger Pro League in RWD Molenbeek's 3–1 victory against Royal Excel Mouscron.[4] On 3 October, he scored his first goal in professional, awarding a 2-1 win for his club against Deinze.[5]
On 12 March 2023, El Ouadhi scored his first career hattrick against Club NXT, offering an important 3-2 win for RWD Molenbeek for their fight for promotion.[6][7] He terminated the 2022-23 season by winning the league with RWD Molenbeek and gained a promotion to the Jupiler Pro League.[8][9] El Ouadhi named was as Molenbeek's player of the season and figured in the league's best XI of the season.[10]
On 5 September 2023, El Ouahdi signed for Genk on an initial three-year deal with the option for a further twelve months.[11]
International career
editHolding both Belgian and Moroccan citizenship, El Ouadhi chose to represent Morocco in international level. On 9 June 2023, he was called up by coach Issame Charaï in Morocco U-23 squad for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.[12] El Ouadhi appeared in four out of five matches during the tournament, and scored one goal against Mali U-23 in the semi-final match.[13] Morocco U-23 won the tournament as El Ouadhi figured in the competition's team of the tournament as the best right-back.[14][15]
El Ouadhi earned his first senior call-up for 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Gabon and Lesotho in September 2024, but remained on the bench for both games.[16][17]
Career Statistics
editClub
edit- As of 10 November 2024[18]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rupel Boom | 2020-21 | Belgian National Division 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| RWD Molenbeek | 2021-22 | Challenger Pro League | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| 2022-23 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 7 | ||||
| 2023-24 | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 51 | 8 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 56 | 8 | |||
| Genk | 2023-24 | Belgian Pro League | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |
| 2024-25 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| Career Total | 88 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 97 | 9 | ||
Honours
editRWD Molenbeek
Morocco U-23
- U-23 Africa Cup of Nations: 2023[14]
- Summer Olympics Bronze Medal: 2024[19]
Individual
- Challenger Pro League best XI: 2022–23[10]
- U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the tournament: 2023[15]
Notes
edit- ^ Appearance(s) in Promotion/relegation play-offs
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
References
edit- ^ "Zakaria El Ouahdi, le chouchou du stade Machtens" (in French). La DH Les Sports+. 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Twee jaar na zijn komst heeft Zakaria El Ouahdi de titel met RWDM beet: "Nooit gedacht dat het zo snel zou gaan"" (in Flemish). Het Nieuwsblad. 14 May 2023.
- ^ "D1B: Zakaria El Ouahdi signe son premier contrat pro au RWDM". sudinfo.be (in French). 9 September 2021.
- ^ "RWD Molenbeek 3-1 Excel Mouscron - 14 août 2021 / Division 1-B 2021/2022". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Deinze 1-2 RWD Molenbeek - 03 octobre 2021 / Division 1-B 2021/2022". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "RWDM vs. Club Brugge II - 12 March 2023 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Le RWDM se rapproche de la montée grâce à un triplé de Zakaria El Ouahdi". BX1 (in French). 12 March 2023.
- ^ "Molenbeek, champion de D2 belge, promu en Pro League" (in French). L'Équipe. 14 May 2023.
- ^ a b "D1B – El Ouahdi aux anges après le sacre du RWDM: "Vivre ces sensations à mon âge, c'est fantastique"". sudinfo.be (in French). 14 May 2023.
- ^ a b "D1B - Equipe de l'Année // AILIER DROIT : Zakaria El Ouahdi (RWDM)". www.proximus.be (in French). Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "TWEE NIEUWE GEZICHTEN ARRIVEREN IN DE CEGEKA ARENA" [TWO NEW FACES ARRIVE AT THE CEGEKA ARENA]. www.krcgenk.be/nl (in Dutch). 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ "CAN U23: la liste des Lionceaux dévoilée, avec El Khannouss et Ezzalzouli". Le360 Sport (in French). Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "CAN U23 : Le Maroc en finale au détriment du Mali et se qualifie pour les JO - La Vie éco". lavieeco.com (in French). 5 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Le Maroc remporte la CAN U23 au bout de la prolongation". SOFOOT.com (in French). 9 July 2023.
- ^ a b "CAN U23: L'équipe type de la compétition dévoilé". Africa Foot United (in French). 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Morocco vs. Gabon - 6 September 2024 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ "Lesotho vs. Morocco - 9 September 2024 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Zakaria El Ouahdi at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Egypt U23 vs Morocco U23: Olympics". BBC Sport. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
External links
edit- Zakaria El Ouahdi at Soccerway