Zakaria Aboukhlal Biography
Zakaria Aboukhlal is a professional footballer who was born on February 18, 2000, in the Netherlands.
He represents the Moroccan national team and is a striker for Toulouse in Ligue 1. Prior to choosing to play for Morocco at the senior level, Aboukhlal had previously represented the Netherlands at different junior levels.
The youth squad of PSV Eindhoven, Jong PSV, is where Aboukhlal started his professional career. On August 17, 2018, he made his debut in the Eerste Divisie, the Dutch football second-tier league.
He only made a few appearances for PSV’s senior team, though, before moving on to AZ Alkmaar in August 2019. A €2 million transfer fee was paid to AZ Alkmaar.
On December 9, 2019, he scored all four goals for Jong AZ, AZ Alkmaar’s reserve squad, in a game against Helmond Sport.
Aboukhlal joined Toulouse, a Ligue 1 team, on June 24, 2022. He won the Coupe de France during his debut year with the team. In the final, Aboukhlal was instrumental in Toulouse’s 5-1 triumph against the defending champions Nantes by scoring a goal in the 79th minute.
Aboukhlal had the option of playing for the Netherlands internationally, but he choose to represent Morocco instead because of his background in the Moroccan community in the Netherlands.
On November 13, 2020, he made his debut for the Moroccan national team in a 4-1 victory against the Central African Republic as part of the competitions for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. That first game included his first international goal.
Due to his skill and performance, Aboukhlal was selected to represent Morocco in the Qatar-hosted FIFA World Cup in 2022. On November 27, 2022, in a match against Belgium, he scored his first World Cup goal.
Aboukhlal sparked controversy when he declined to play for Toulouse versus Nantes in a Ligue 1 match since the contest was a part of the league’s anti-homophobia initiative. He was thus barred from taking part in any first-team activities.
The deputy mayor of Toulouse, Laurence Arribagé, allegedly got into a sexist argument at the city hall in April while the squad was celebrating winning the Coupe de France, according to press reports.
In a tweet, Aboukhlal refuted these accusations and said that the media had misrepresented what actually happened.
Regardless of the allegations, Aboukhlal’s football career is still going well and he is still an intriguing player.
Zakaria Aboukhlal Siblings: Who Are Zakaria Aboukhlal Siblings
Zakaria Aboukhlal is a professional footballer who has a brother by the name of Ziad Aboukhlal.
Ziad Aboukhlal works at Damen Shipyards Group, which would suggest that Ziad is involved in the maritime industry.
Damen Shipyards Group is a well-known Dutch shipbuilding company that specializes in the construction of various types of vessels.
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