Brice Samba facts for kids
Samba with Lens in 2024
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Brice Lauriche Samba | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 April 1994 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Linzolo, Republic of the Congo | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Rennes | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Pacy Vallée-d'Eure | |||||||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | Madeleine Evreux | |||||||||||||||
| 2006–2011 | Le Havre | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Le Havre B | 27 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Le Havre | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2017 | Marseille B | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2017 | Marseille | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Nancy B (loan) | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Nancy (loan) | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Caen B | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Caen | 43 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Nottingham Forest | 125 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2025 | Lens | 85 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2025– | Rennes | 17 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | France | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2024 |
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Brice Lauriche Samba (born on April 25, 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for the Ligue 1 club Rennes. Brice was born in the Republic of Congo, but he plays for the French national team.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Le Havre
Brice Samba began his football journey at Le Havre in 2006. He worked his way up through their youth teams. He first played for the main team in 2011.
Time with Marseille
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On January 4, 2013, Samba joined Marseille from Le Havre. He signed a contract for four and a half years. He made his first professional appearance for Marseille on January 5, 2014. This was in a Coupe de France game against Reims. He managed to keep a clean sheet, meaning the other team didn't score, in a 2–0 home win. Later, on July 9, 2015, Samba went to Nancy for a season on loan.
Moving to Caen
Brice Samba then joined Caen on June 30, 2017. He signed a four-year deal after leaving Marseille.
Success at Nottingham Forest
On August 7, 2019, Samba joined EFL Championship team Nottingham Forest. He signed a four-year contract. He was first brought in as a backup goalkeeper. However, he soon became Forest's main goalkeeper after the other player made some mistakes.
Samba played his first game for Forest on August 13, 2019. It was a 1–0 win in the EFL Cup against Fleetwood Town. His first league game was on August 24, 2019, in a 2–1 victory over Fulham. His great performances led to him being named the Championship Fans' Player of the Month in November 2019. On September 8, 2020, Samba was chosen for the PFA Championship Team of the Year for the 2019–20 season.
In the 2022 Championship play-off semi-final, Samba was a hero. He saved three penalties, helping Forest reach the final against Huddersfield Town. He started in the 2022 EFL Championship play-off final. He was substituted in the 90th minute due to an injury. Forest won 1–0, which meant they returned to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years!
Joining Lens
On July 5, 2022, it was announced that Samba had signed a five-year contract with Ligue 1 club Lens. In the first half of the 2022–23 Ligue 1 season, he kept 9 clean sheets in 19 games. He finished the season with 15 clean sheets in 38 league matches, which was the most in the league. He was given the Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year award. He was also named in the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year. He let in the fewest goals (29 goals) in the league. This helped Lens finish second with 84 points, just one point behind league winners Paris Saint-Germain. This amazing result secured a Champions League spot for Lens for the first time in 20 years.
International Career
Brice Samba was born in the Republic of the Congo. He has both Congolese and French nationalities.
In March 2023, he was called up for the first time to the French senior national team. This was for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
On June 16, 2023, he made his debut for France. He played the entire game in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Gibraltar.
Achievements and Awards
Brice Samba has achieved several important things in his career:
Nottingham Forest
- EFL Championship play-offs: Winner in 2022
France
- UEFA Nations League third place: 2024–25
Individual Awards
- PFA Championship Fans Player of the Month: November 2019
- PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20 EFL Championship
- Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2022–23
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2022–23
See also
In Spanish: Brice Samba para niños
