Ameen Al-Dakhil (Arabic: أمين الدخيل; born 6 March 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. Born in Iraq, he plays for the Belgium national team.

Ameen Al-Dakhil
Personal information
Full name Ameen Al-Dakhil[1]
Date of birth (2002-03-06) 6 March 2002 (age 22)[1]
Place of birth Baghdad, Iraq[2]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back[4]
Team information
Current team
VfB Stuttgart
Number 2
Youth career
2009–2011 Kortenaken
2011–2012 Hoegaarden-Outgaarden
2012–2013 Tienen
2013–2017 Anderlecht
2017–2021 Standard Liège
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Standard Liège 13 (0)
2022–2023 Sint-Truiden 25 (0)
2023–2024 Burnley 21 (1)
2024– VfB Stuttgart 1 (0)
International career
2018–2019 Belgium U17 7 (1)
2019 Belgium U18 1 (0)
2022– Belgium U21 4 (0)
2023– Belgium 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:24, 1 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:16, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Early life

edit

Al-Dakhil was born in Iraq, and moved to Belgium with his family at the age of 5, as a refugee during the Iraq War. He began playing football with the youth academies of Kortenaken, Hoegaarden-Outgaarden, Tienen, Anderlecht and Standard Liège.[5] Originally a striker, Al-Dakhil was then converted to a centre-back.[6]

Club career

edit

Standard Liege

edit

Al-Dakhil made his professional debut for Standard Liège on 23 July 2021, in a 1–1 Belgian First Division A tie with Genk.[7]

Sint–Truiden

edit

On 31 January 2022, Al-Dakhil moved to fellow Belgian side Sint-Truiden on a permanent deal.[8]

Burnley

edit

On 13 January 2023, Al-Dakhil joined English side Burnley for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.[9] On 31 January 2024, he scored his first goal for Burnley against Manchester City in a 3–1 defeat, becoming the first player born in Iraq to score in the Premier League.[10]

Vfb Stuttgart

edit

On 27 August 2024, Al-Dakhil signed for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart on a four-year deal.[11]

International career

edit

Born in Iraq, Al-Dakhil was raised in Belgium and holds a Belgian citizenship.[5] He has been a youth international for Belgium, having represented the under-17, under-18 and under-21 national teams.[citation needed]

In October 2020, he was called up to represent the Iraqi squad at the AFC U-19 Championship, but the tournament was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

In June 2023 he was called up to the senior Belgium squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Austria and Estonia on 17 and 20 June 2023 respectively.[13]

Career statistics

edit

Club

edit
As of match played 1 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Standard Liège 2021–22[1] Belgian First Division A 13 0 1 0 14 0
Sint-Truidense 2021–22[1] Belgian First Division A 9 0 9 0
2022–23[1] Belgian Pro League 16 0 3 0 19 0
Total 25 0 3 0 28 0
Burnley 2022–23[1] Championship 8 0 4 0 12 0
2023–24[1] Premier League 13 1 1 0 3 0 17 1
Total 21 1 5 0 3 0 29 1
VfB Stuttgart 2024–25 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 60 1 9 0 3 0 0 0 72 1
  1. ^ Includes Belgian Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup

International

edit
As of match played 17 November 2024[14]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Belgium 2023 4 0
2024 2 0
Total 6 0

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Belgium - A. Al Dakhil - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Het jongensboek van Ameen Al-Dakhil: Van Bagdad naar Sclessin". www.hbvl.be.
  3. ^ "Al-Dakhil (Ameen Al-Dakhil) - Football - Le Soir". sports.lesoir.be.
  4. ^ Ameen Al-Dakhil at BeSoccer
  5. ^ a b Sports+, DH Les (31 July 2021). "Le papa d'Ameen Al-Dakhil: "Je voulais le meilleur pour mes enfants"". DH Les Sports +.
  6. ^ "Réginal Goreux présente Ameen Al-Dakhil, révélation du début de saison au Standard : "il a une grande intelligence de jeu"". RTBF Sport. 3 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Standard Liège vs. Genk - 23 July 2021 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  8. ^ "AMEEN AL-DAKHIL IS A CANARY" (Press release). Sint-Truiden. 31 January 2022. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  9. ^ InCrowd. "AL-DAKHIL IS A CLARET". Burnley Football Club. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Manchester City keep heat on leaders after Julián Álvarez fires past Burnley". The Guardian. 31 January 2024.
  11. ^ "VfB sign Ameen Al-Dakhil". VfB Stuttgart. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  12. ^ "المراقب العراقي". Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Tedesco verrast: Al Dakhil, Deman, Trésor en Bodart debuteren bij Rode Duivels, weer geen Mertens" [Tedesco verrast: Al Dakhil, Deman, Trésor and Bodart to make debut at Red Devils, again no Mertens]. sporza.be. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Ameen Al-Dakhil". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
edit