Matz Sels

Matz Willy Els Sels (born 26 February 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, for which he serves as captain, and the Belgium national team.

Matz Sels
Sels playing for Gent in 2015
Personal information
Full name Matz Willy Els Sels[1]
Date of birth (1992-02-26) 26 February 1992
Place of birth Lint, Belgium
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Strasbourg
Number 1
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Lierse 30 (0)
2014–2016 Gent 94 (0)
2016–2018 Newcastle United 9 (0)
2017–2018 → Anderlecht (loan) 32 (0)
2018– Strasbourg 151 (0)
International career‡
2009 Belgium U17 2 (0)
2009–2010 Belgium U18 8 (0)
2010–2011 Belgium U19 5 (0)
2012–2014 Belgium U21 3 (0)
2021– Belgium 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2023

Club career

Lierse SK

Sels started his youth career at Kontich, but transferred to Lierse at the age of seven. Over there, he started in 2010 in the first team. After the departure of Eiji Kawashima to Standard Liège in the summer of 2012, Sels became the first choice keeper. In his first game in the First Division, on 29 July 2012 against Gent, he saved a penalty. At the start of the 2013–2014 season, when he refused to sign a new contract, he was demoted to the second team.

KAA Gent

On 31 December 2013, it was announced that Sels would complete a transfer to KAA Gent once the transfer window opened. He would become the number one goalkeeper as Frank Boeckx's contract was due to expire at the end of the season. Sels made his debut for AA Gent on 14 January 2014 against K.V. Kortrijk, in the quarter-finals of the Belgian Cup. He helped AA Gent qualify for the next round after penalties; with the game ending 1–1 on aggregate.

Sels played a key role in helping AA Gent become champions of the 2014–15 Belgian Pro League; the first national championship in their club history. This triumph allowed AA Gent to qualify for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.

On his Champions League debut Sels dramatically saved an Alexandre Lacazette penalty to help his side secure a 1–1 draw with Olympique Lyonnais.[2] On 13 January 2016 he was voted Best Goalkeeper of Belgium 2015.[3]

Newcastle United

On 29 June 2016, Sels completed a transfer to Newcastle United on a five-year contract for a reported transfer fee of £6.5 million. Sels made his Newcastle debut in the Championship on 5 August against Fulham.[4] Sels kept a run of four clean sheets spanning 20 August to 13 September.[5] Sels came under considerable fire from Newcastle fans for allowing a late equaliser from Aaron Tshibola at Aston Villa on 24 September.[6] Despite receiving endorsement from manager Rafa Benítez during the week,[7] Sels lost his place in the lineup to Karl Darlow against Norwich City on 28 September.[8] His displacement from the lineup also received notable media coverage in his native Belgium.[9] When Newcastle's next League Cup tilt came up, it was Sels who got the start, enjoying a clean sheet in a 6–0 victory over Preston North End on 25 October. [10]

Anderlecht (loan)

On 22 June 2017, Sels signed for Anderlecht on a season-long loan.[11]

Strasbourg

On 27 July 2018, Sels moved to French side RC Strasbourg Alsace for £3.5 million.[12]

International career

Sels was called up to the Belgium squad in October 2015 for Euro 2016 qualifiers against Andorra and Israel.[13] He was named in the Roberto Martinez Belgian squad for the friendly against Saudi Arabia in Brussels on 27 March.[14]

In May 2018 he was named in Belgium's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[15] However, he did not make the final 23.[16]

In May 2021, Sels was named in Belgium's provisional squad for the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020.[17]

He made his debut on 3 June 2021 in a friendly against Greece, substituting Simon Mignolet in the 90th minute.[18]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 24 September 2023[19][20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lierse 2010–11 Belgian Pro League 0000———00
2011–12 Belgian Pro League 0000———00
2012–13 Belgian Pro League 30010———310
Total 30010000000310
Gent 2013–14 Belgian Pro League 9030——6[lower-alpha 1]0180
2014–15 Belgian Pro League 30060——9[lower-alpha 1]0450
2015–16 Belgian Pro League 30040—8011[lower-alpha 2]0530
Total 69013000802601160
Newcastle United 2016–17 Championship 903020——140
Anderlecht (loan) 2017–18 Belgian Pro League 22010—3011[lower-alpha 2]0370
Strasbourg 2018–19 Ligue 1 3701000––380
2019–20 Ligue 1 270200060–350
2020–21 Ligue 1 6000–––60
2021–22 Ligue 1 37010–––380
2022–23 Ligue 1 38010–––390
2023–24 Ligue 1 6000–––60
Total 1510500060001620
Career total 2810230201703703600
  1. Appearance(s) in Belgian Pro League playoffs
  2. Ten appearances in Belgian Pro League playoffs, one appearance in Belgian Super Cup

International
As of match played 13 October 2023[21]
Belgium
YearAppsGoals
202110
202210
202320
Total40

Honours

Gent

Newcastle United

Anderlecht

Strasbourg

Individual

References
  1. "КОМАНДЫ: Бельгия" [Teams: Belgium] (in Russian). Granatkin Memorial. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  2. "Nine-man Gent claim heroic 1–1 draw with Lyon in Group H". The Guardian. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  3. "Matz Sels weer trapje hoger: Beste doelman van 2015". HLN. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. Starforth, Miles (5 August 2016). "Matz Sels starts in goal for Newcastle at Fulham". The Shields Gazette. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  5. Robertson, Jim (24 September 2016). "The case of Matz Sels is a strange one". The Mag.
  6. Banerjee, Rohan (25 September 2016). "Newcastle United goalkeeper Matz Sels deletes Twitter account after abuse from angry supporters". Daily Mirror.
  7. "Rafa Benitez backs goalkeeper Matz Sels after error". Sky Sports. 27 September 2016.
  8. Wilson, Scott (28 September 2016). "Newcastle boss drops Matz Sels for Norwich game". The Northern Echo.
  9. Douglas, Mark (4 October 2016). "Matz Sels is down, but not out – how Newcastle goalkeeper plans to revive his United career". Evening Chronicle.
  10. "Coach én fans lovend voor herboren Matz Sels: "Alles positief aan zijn match"" [Coach and fans laud reborn Matz Sels: "Everything positive in his match"]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 26 October 2016.
  11. Easterby, Tom (22 June 2017). "Sels makes Anderlecht loan move". Newcastle United F.C.
  12. "Newcastle confirm departure of Matz Sels to Strasbourg". Sky Sports. 26 July 2018.
  13. "Belgium make sweeping changes for Euro 2016 double-header". Sky Sports. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  14. "Limbombe gets first Belgium call, Nainggolan back in the squad". Yahoo. 16 March 2018. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  15. "Belgium World Cup squad: Radja Nainggolan left out of initial 28-man squad for Russia 2018". The Independent. 21 May 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  16. "World Cup 2018: Belgium include Vincent Kompany but Christian Benteke misses out". BBC Sport. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  17. Das, Andrew (18 May 2021). "Euro 2020 Rosters: France Recalls Karim Benzema". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  18. "Belgium v Greece game report". ESPN. 3 June 2021.
  19. "Matz Sels » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  20. Matz Sels at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  21. "Matz Sels". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  22. "Gent v Club Brugge Starting XIs, Jul 16, 2015". goal.com. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  23. "Le Strasbourg de Matz Sels remporte la Coupe de la Ligue pour la 3e fois de son histoire" (in French). RTL Sport. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  24. "Matz Sels (Strasbourg) meilleur gardien de la saison en L1 pour les entraîneurs des gardiens" (in French).
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