Joakim Mæhle

Joakim Mæhle Pedersen (born 20 May 1997) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Denmark national team.

Joakim Mæhle
Mæhle with Genk in 2019
Personal information
Full name Joakim Mæhle Pedersen[1]
Date of birth (1997-05-20) 20 May 1997
Place of birth Østervrå, Denmark
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Full-back
Team information
Current team
 VfL Wolfsburg
Number 21
Youth career
0000–2009 Østervrå IF
2009–2016 AaB
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 AaB 24 (1)
2017–2021 Genk 105 (4)
2021–2023 Atalanta 80 (4)
2023– VfL Wolfsburg 7 (1)
International career‡
2017 Denmark U20 1 (0)
2017–2019 Denmark U21 7 (2)
2020– Denmark 38 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:35, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:10, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Club career

AaB

Born in Østervrå, Vendsyssel, Mæhle started playing football with local club Østervrå IF and moved to the AaB youth academy as a 12-year-old.[3] At the age of 19, Mæhle was promoted into the first team squad on 10 June 2016 and also signed a full-time senior contract with AaB.[4] He made his debut for AaB on 7 August 2016.[5] He started on the bench, but replaced Thomas Enevoldsen in the 89th minute in a 2–1 victory against FC Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga.

On 11 November 2016, Mæhle earned a new contract until 2020.[6] In April 2017, AaB confirmed that they were in negotiations with a foreign club about Mæhle.

Genk

On 9 May 2017, AaB confirmed that they had sold Mæhle to Belgian club Racing Genk for an undisclosed fee, starting from 1 July 2017.[3] He was signed to succeed right-back Timothy Castagne, who had moved to Atalanta. Mæhle made his debut for Genk on 29 July 2017 in the first league match of the season against Waasland-Beveren as a substitute for Amine Khammas. In his first season with the club, he was not a fixed starter, competing with Clinton Mata for his position. In his second season, after Mata's departure to Club Brugge, he won a permanent starting position. That season, Mæhle grew into a key player in the Genk starting eleven. At the end of the season, Genk won the Belgian championship.

On 11 September 2019, Mæhle extended his contract until June 2023.[7]

Atalanta

Genk announced on 22 December 2020 that Mæhle had signed for Atalanta on a five-year contract for a fee of €10 million. His transfer was made official on 4 January 2021.[8] He made his Serie A debut for Atalanta on 6 January in the club's 3–0 defeat of Parma.[9] On 28 February, Mæhle provided an assist in Atalanta's 2–0 win over Sampdoria.[10] Mæhle scored his first goal for Atalanta in a 6–2 Serie A victory over Udinese on 9 January 2022.[11]

International career

Mæhle made his Denmark national team debut on 5 September 2020 in a Nations League game against Belgium; he substituted Martin Braithwaite in the 72nd minute of a 2–0 home loss.[12] He scored his first international goal in a friendly against the Faroe Islands on 7 October 2020.

In June 2021, he was included in the national team's bid for 2020 UEFA Euro, where the team reached the semi-finals.[13]

On 12 October 2021, Maehle scored the only goal as Denmark defeated Austria to secure a place at the World Cup in Qatar.[14]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 13 August 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
AaB 2016–17 Danish Superliga 24110––251
Genk 2017–18 Belgian Pro League 25020––270
2018–19 Belgian Pro League 3932113[lower-alpha 2]0–544
2019–20 Belgian Pro League 250216[lower-alpha 3]000331
2020–21 Belgian Pro League 16100––161
Total 105442190001286
Atalanta 2020–21 Serie A 200302[lower-alpha 3]0–250
2021–22 Serie A 261118[lower-alpha 4]1–353
2022–23 Serie A 34320––363
Total 80461101–966
VfL Wolfsburg 2023–24 Bundesliga 1010––20
Career total 20881232910024912
  1. Includes Danish Cup, Belgian Cup, Coppa Italia, DFB-Pokal
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 8 September 2023[16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Denmark 202061
2021177
2022111
202341
Total3810
Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mæhle goal.
List of international goals scored by Joakim Mæhle
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
17 October 2020MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark2 Faroe Islands3–04–0Friendly
231 March 2021Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria8 Austria2–04–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
321 June 2021Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark13 Russia4–14–1UEFA Euro 2020
426 June 2021Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands14 Wales3–04–0UEFA Euro 2020
51 September 2021Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark17 Scotland2–02–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
69 October 2021Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova20 Moldova4–04–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
712 October 2021Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark21 Austria1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
812 November 2021Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark22 Faroe Islands3–13–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
929 March 2022Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark25 Serbia1–03–0Friendly
107 September 2023Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark38 San Marino2–04–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Honours

Genk

Atalanta

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Denmark" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. "Joakim Mæhle". Atalanta B.C. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021.
  3. AaB sælger Mæhle til KRC Genk‚ aabsport.dk, 9 May 2017
  4. "AaB rykker seks talenter op på førsteholdet". bold.dk. 10 June 2016.
  5. "NORDSJÆLLAND VS. AAB 1 - 2". soccerway.com. 7 August 2016.
  6. "AaB giver Mæhle til 2020". bold.dk. 11 November 2016.
  7. Mæhle forlænger aftalen med belgiske mestre, bold.dk, 11 September 2019
  8. "Official: Atalanta deal for Maelhe". Football Italia. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  9. "Player - Joakim Maehle". Lega Serie A. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  10. "Sampodria 0 – 2 Atalanta". Lega Serie A. 28 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  11. "Udinese 2–6 Atalanta". atalanta.it. 9 January 2022.
  12. "Denmark v Belgium game report". UEFA. 5 September 2020.
  13. "26 spillere klar til EM for Danmark" [26 players ready for the European Championship for Denmark]. Danish Football Association (in Danish). 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  14. "Denmark captain Simon Kjaer says they "can go a long way" after qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a win over Austria in Copenhagen". BBC. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  15. Joakim Mæhle at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  16. "Mæhle, Joakim". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  17. "Atalanta 1–2 Juventus". BBC Sport. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
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