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Youssef Msakni
Personal information
Msakni with Al-Duhail in 2015
Full name	Youssef Msakni
Date of birth	(1990-10-28) 28 October 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	Tunis, Tunisia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Winger, forward
Youth career
2004–2007	Stade Tunisien
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2007	Stade Tunisien	28	(10)
2008–2013	Espérance Tunis	104	(37)
2013–2023	Al-Duhail	119	(73)
2019	→ Eupen (loan)	7	(1)
2021–2023	→ Al Arabi (loan)	40	(23)
2023–2025	Al Arabi	31	(16)
International career^‡
2006–2007	Tunisia U17	13	(4)
2009	Tunisia U20	3	(0)
2009–2011	Tunisia U23	4	(1)
2010–	Tunisia	104	(23)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:04, 25 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Youssef Msakni (Arabic: يُوسُف الْمُسَاكِنِيّ; born on October 28, 1990) is a professional footballer from Tunisia. He plays as a winger or forward. He is also the captain of the Tunisia national team.

Msakni has played over 100 games for Tunisia and scored 23 goals. He is known for his skill and ability to score important goals.

Youssef Msakni's Football Journey

Starting Out in Tunisia

Youssef Msakni began his youth football career at Stade Tunisien. In July 2008, he joined Espérance Sportive de Tunis, a big club in Tunisia.

He played his first game for ES Tunis on July 26, 2009. This was during the first match of the 2009–10 season. He scored his first league goal just two weeks later, helping his team win 4–0.

Winning Big with ES Tunis

On November 12, 2011, Msakni helped his team win the CAF Champions League. He was the second-highest scorer in that competition with five goals.

In September 2012, he won the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 for the fourth time with ES Tunis. He was also the top scorer in the Tunisian league that season, with 17 goals. Many big clubs in France were interested in him, but he decided to join a club in Qatar.

Moving to Qatar: Lekhwiya and Al Duhail

On January 1, 2013, Msakni joined the Qatari club Lekhwiya SC. This transfer was a record for an African player at the time, costing about €11.5 million.

He quickly made an impact, scoring his first goal for Lekhwiya on February 10, 2013, in a 4–0 win. He also scored a key goal in the AFC Champions League. English clubs like Newcastle United and Arsenal showed interest in him. In May 2013, he helped his team win the 2013 Qatar Crown Prince Cup.

Club Name Change and Injury

Lekhwiya SC later changed its name to Al Duhail. Msakni continued to play well, even getting offers from European clubs. However, he chose to stay in Qatar.

Sadly, in April 2018, Msakni suffered a knee injury. This meant he had to miss the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which was a big disappointment. In January 2019, he went on loan to K.A.S. Eupen in Belgium for a short period.

Playing for Tunisia

Early International Matches

Msakni first joined the Tunisia national team in December 2009. He was called up for a friendly game before the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. At just 19 years old, he played in the Africa Cup of Nations, even providing an assist in the first match against Zambia.

Winning the CHAN 2011

In February 2011, Msakni helped Tunisia win the 2011 CHAN by beating Angola 3–0 in the final. He scored one goal during the group stage of this competition.

Africa Cup of Nations Highlights

CAN 2012

In the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Msakni scored a fantastic goal against Morocco, helping Tunisia win 2–1. He also scored against Niger, leading Tunisia to the quarter-finals.

CAN 2013

Msakni scored a memorable goal in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Algeria. His powerful shot from 25 meters helped Tunisia win 1–0. This goal was even chosen as the "most beautiful goal" of the tournament!

CAN 2015 and 2017

He also played in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. In 2017, he played a big part in helping Tunisia qualify. He scored against Zimbabwe and provided an assist against Algeria.

Recent International Success

On October 7, 2017, Msakni scored his first international hat-trick (three goals in one game) against Guinea during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

He later captained his national team in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. He scored a penalty against Angola and another goal against Madagascar in the quarter-finals.

In January 2022, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Nigeria in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations round of 16.

In November 2022, he was part of the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In January 2024, he earned his 100th cap (played his 100th game) for the national team during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Personal Life

Youssef Msakni comes from a football family. His younger brother, Iheb, is also a Tunisian international footballer. Their father, Mondher Msakni, used to play for Stade Tunisien.

In July 2017, Youssef Msakni married Amira Jaziri, an actress and model from Tunisia. They separated in 2021.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stade Tunisien	2006–07	Tunisian Ligue 1	10	2	0	0	—		0	0	10	2
	2007–08	Tunisian Ligue 1	18	6	0	0	—		0	0	18	6
	Total		28	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	28	8
Espérance de Tunis	2007–08	Tunisian Ligue 1	10	0	0	0	—		0	0	10	0
	2008–09		19	4	3	2	—		12	0	34	6
	2009–10		22	6	1	0	13	0	0	0	36	6
	2010–11		24	10	5	1	11	5	0	0	40	16
	2011–12		28	17	0	0	10	4	3	0	41	21
	2012–13		1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
	Total		104	37	9	3	34	9	15	0	162	49
Lekhwiya	2012–13	Qatar Stars League	7	4	2	1	9	4	2	1	20	10
	2013–14		22	12	1	0	8	1	7	1	38	14
	2014–15		17	7	1	0	9	5	2	2	29	14
	2015–16		23	14	2	1	6	0	3	1	32	15
	2016–17		12	7	2	2	7	3	2	0	23	12
	2017–18		22	25	0	0	4	2	1	0	26	27
	2019–20		13	4	1	0	2	1	4	1	20	6
	2020–21		3	0	0	0	—		0	0	3	0
	Total		119	73	9	4	45	16	21	6	194	99
Eupen (loan)	2018–19	Belgian Pro League	7	1	0	0	—		6	2	13	3
Al-Arabi (loan)	2020–21	Qatar Stars League	6	2	3	2	—		3	2	12	6
	2021–22		14	8	0	0	—		0	0	14	8
	2022–23		20	13	4	4	—		5	4	29	21
	Total		40	23	7	6	0	0	8	6	55	35
Al-Arabi	2023–24	Qatar Stars League	19	9	2	2	1	0	1	1	23	12
	2024–25	Qatar Stars League	8	6	0	0	—		4	1	12	7
	Total		27	15	2	2	1	0	5	2	35	19
Career total			325	156	34	15	77	25	46	16	482	213

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Tunisia	2010	6	0
	2011	0	0
	2012	10	3
	2013	9	1
	2014	3	0
	2015	6	0
	2016	2	1
	2017	11	4
	2018	0	0
	2019	15	2
	2020	4	1
	2021	11	2
	2022	13	3
	2023	7	5
	2024	7	1
Total		104	23

Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Msakni goal.

List of international goals scored by Youssef Msakni
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	23 January 2012	Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville, Gabon	Morocco	2–0	2–1	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
2	27 January 2012	Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville, Gabon	Niger	1–0	2–1	2012 Africa Cup of Nations
3	8 September 2012	National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	2–2	2–2	2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4	22 January 2013	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng, South Africa	Algeria	1–0	1–0	2013 Africa Cup of Nations
5	25 March 2016	Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia	Togo	1–0	1–0	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6	23 January 2017	Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville, Gabon	Zimbabwe	2–0	4–2	2017 Africa Cup of Nations
7	7 October 2017	Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea	Guinea	1–1	4–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8				2–1
9				4–1
10	25 June 2019	Suez Stadium, Suez, Egypt	Angola	1–0	1–1	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
11	11 July 2019	Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt	Madagascar	2–0	3–0	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
12	13 November 2020	Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, Tunisia	Tanzania	1–0	1–0	2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
13	30 November 2021	Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Mauritania	5–1	5–1	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
14	10 December 2021	Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Oman	2–1	2–1	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
15	23 January 2022	Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon	Nigeria	1–0	1–0	2021 Africa Cup of Nations
16	2 June 2022	Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, Tunisia	Equatorial Guinea	3–0	4–0	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
17	2 June 2022	Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, Tunisia	Equatorial Guinea	4–0	4–0	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
18	24 March 2023	Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, Tunisia	Libya	1–0	3–0	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
19	7 September 2023	Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, Tunisia	Botswana	2–0	3–0	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
20	7 September 2023	Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, Tunisia	Botswana	3–0	3–0	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
21	17 November 2023	Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis, Tunisia	São Tomé and Príncipe	2–0	4–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
22	21 November 2023	Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe, Malawi	Malawi	1–0	1–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
23	10 January 2024	Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia	Cape Verde	2–0	2–0	Friendly