Youssef Msakni

ES Tunis

He was formed at Stade Tunisien, he evolves in July 2008 in the club of the ES Tunis.

He played his first game with ES Tunis on 26 July 2009, on the first day of the 2009-10 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1, against Olympique Béja. He entered the field in the 79th minute of play in replacement of Henri Bienvenu Ntsama. Two weeks later, on 8 August, Msakni scored his first league goal in his third game against AS Kasserine in the 54th minute of play (4-0 win).

On 12 November 2011, he won the CAF Champions League, finishing second in the competition with 5 goals, just behind Wydad Casablanca striker Fabrice Ondama, who scored six goals.

On 30 September 2012, he won the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 for the fourth time, winning the title of best scorer in the Tunisian football championship with 17 goals. According to Goal.com, Youssef Msakni is the 48th best footballer of the 2012 season in all countries, thanks in particular to the performances realized under the colors of his club or the national team. During the mercato, he is courted by many French clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, Lille OSC, AS Monaco and FC Lorient, but the attacking midfielder signed on 3 July 2012 on a four-year contract with Qatari Stars League club Lekhwiya SC, but he joined the club on 1 January 2013.^[1].

On 17 November, he played his last game with ES Tunis but also his second final of the CAF Champions League against Al Ahly; Msakni and his team-mates lost (1-2).

Lekhwiya / Al Duhail

As of 1 January 2013, Msakni joined the Qatari club Lekhwiya SC for a period of four and a half years; the total amount of the transfer was 23 million dinars (11.5 million euros), a record for an African player. On 10 February, he scored his first goal in the 28th minute, with his team winning 4-0 against Al-Wakrah SC.

On 26 February, Msakni proved decisive in the AFC Champions League with a free-kick in the 33rd minute, allowing his team to win 2-1.

In March 2013, Msakni is coveted by four English clubs: Newcastle United, Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham, this growing interest pushing the Qatari club leaders to review the player's release clause by increasing his price.

On 4 May, he won the 2013 Qatar Crown Prince Cup against the Al Sadd (3-2) after scoring his team's third goal.

A complicated start to the season 2013-2014, during which he scored 7 goals in 12 league games, the Qatari media have evoked his departure from Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian champion.

The start of the Asian campaign begins on 8 February 2014 for Msakni and his team-mates: they opposed the Bahraini team Hidd SCC in the second round of the 2014 AFC Champions League; they won the match (2-1), including a decisive pass from the Tunisian striker. A week later, the Lekhwiya SC competed in the third preliminary round of the same competition against Kuwaiti club Kuwait SC, where 2 of his team-mates in Tunisia, Issam Jemâa and Chadi Hammami. Msakni scored a goal and delived two assists.

After the team changed its name from Lekhwiya to Al Duhail, he has received offers from Olympique de Marseille and teams playing La Liga but he preferred to stay in Qatar and play in Europe after 2018 FIFA World Cup.

On 8 April 2018, Msakni will miss this summer's World Cup in Russia after being ruled out for six months because of a knee injury. ^[2]

CAN 2010

Msakni played his first Africa Cup of Nations at only 19 years old and is holding a place in the Benzarti squad. In the first match, against Zambia, he delivers a decisive pass to Zouheir Dhaouadi, offering him the goal of the equalizer. He is one of the players in the match against Gabon, and was replaced in the 67th minute by Chaouki Ben Saada. However, he did not participate in the elimination of his team against Cameroon.

CAN 2012

In the first game against Morocco, he scored in the 75th minute of play by eliminating two opponents, dribbling them one after the other before striking a cross hit of the right, which allows Tunisia to win this match (2-1). In the second game against Niger, he opened the score in the fourth minute of play by passing through three opponents before entering the surface and scoring right; Tunisia took a (2-1) lead and qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The third match was difficult for Tunisia and lost against Gabon (0-1). The quarter-finals between Tunisia and Ghana when Tunisia was eliminated from the competition.

CAN 2013

Following a difficult qualification at 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Sierra Leone , Msakni was a part of the group in South Africa. On 22 January, in the first match of Group D against Algeria, he scored in the 90th minute by undoing a 25-meter rolled strike that is lodged in the goal of Raïs M'Bolhi, allowing Tunisians to win the match (1-0); he was elected as the man of the match and the scorer of the most beautiful goal of the competition. Once again in the second match, Msakni and his team-mates lost (0-3) against Côte d'Ivoire. In the last game of group stage, Tunisia draw with Togo on the score of (1-1) and finished third in Group D.

CAN 2015

Msakni took part in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, where he took part in the first match against Cape Verde in the 82nd minute replacing Wahbi Khazri. He played the full match of his team against Zambia (2-1). He was a substitute at the last match in Group Stage against DR Congo. He replaced Mohamed Ali Yacoubi in the 104th minute at extra time against Equatorial Guinea in quarter-finals but they lost (1-2)

CAN 2017

He played a major role in qualifying for the tournament after scoring against Togo in Monastir. He was also one of the leading players in the group stage after deliving an assist against Algeria in the 50th minute which they won (2-1) and scoring a goal against Zimbabwe in the 22nd minute (4-2), but they were eliminated in the quarter-finals against Burkina Faso after losing (0-2).

International goals

Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first.^[3]

Goal	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

Club