Wahbi Khazri

Wahbi Khazri (Arabic: وهبي خزري; born 8 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder, left winger or forward for Ligue 1 club Montpellier.

Wahbi Khazri
Khazri lining up with Tunisia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Wahbi Khazri[1]
Date of birth (1991-02-08) 8 February 1991[2]
Place of birth Ajaccio, Corsica, France
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, left winger, forward
Team information
Current team
 Montpellier
Number 10
Youth career
1995–2003 JS Ajaccio
2003–2009 Bastia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2014 Bastia 171 (31)
2014–2016 Bordeaux 52 (14)
2016–2018 Sunderland 38 (3)
2017–2018 → Rennes (loan) 24 (9)
2018–2022 Saint-Étienne 100 (33)
2022– Montpellier 28 (4)
International career
2009 Tunisia U20 1 (1)
2012 France U21 1 (0)
2013–2022 Tunisia 74 (25)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:34, 13 August 2023 (UTC)

Trained at Bastia from 2004, Khazri made his professional debut there in 2009 and quickly became a vital part of the team, as he helped the club reach promotion to Ligue 2 in 2011, and then Ligue 1 in 2012. He left in 2014 to join fellow French side Bordeaux. In 2016, Khazri joined Sunderland in the Premier League; he was subsequently loaned to Rennes during the 2017–18 campaign. After finishing the season with 11 goals in 29 games, Khazri attracted the attention of Saint-Étienne, who recruited him in July 2018. In 2022, Khazri signed for Montpellier.

Born in France, Khazri represented his birth country at youth international level, and Tunisia at senior international level. He was the former captain of the national team, playing 74 matches and scoring 25 goals for the side between 2013 and 2022. He represented Tunisia at five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and at both the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Bastia

A native of Ajaccio, Khazri started his career with local side Jeunesse Sportive Ajaccio before moving to Bastia. He received his first call up to the senior squad for their match against Amiens on 20 February 2009.[4] He made his debut in that match coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute for Ludovic Genest. Bastia scored the winning goal a minute later to win the match 1–0.[5]

He scored his first career goal on 13 March 2009, in a 1–0 victory over Montpellier.[6] Wahbi quickly established himself as a goalscorer, scoring again a couple of weeks later in a 3–1 win over Vannes.[7] He scored again, this time on the final match day of the season against Troyes, scoring the first goal in a 2–1 victory.[8] The loss meant Troyes would be relegated to the Championnat National.

Bordeaux

On 1 July 2014, he signed up for four years with the Bordeaux.[9] He played his first match in his new colors on 9 August 2014, on the first day of the 2014–15 season against Montpellier. Bordeaux won by a goal to zero that day. He scored his first goal in his second appearance for Bordeaux, the next day as the Girondins host Monaco on 17 August. He scored his goal on a penalty that he himself caused and thus participated in the victory of his family 4–1.

On 28 September 2014, he scored the 3,400th goal in Girondins history. His first season at the Girondins was a success: he managed to win in the team as a starter and totaled nine goals in 32 league games.[10]

He scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season, in his first match against Reims on 9 August 2015 (defeated by a score of 2–1). On 11 September, he scored a goal in a high-tension match for championship leaders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG); he managed to take the ball from the feet of Kevin Trapp, the opposing goalkeeper, even if the match ended in a 2–2 draw.[11]

Sunderland
Khazri (right) playing for Sunderland against Chelsea in May 2016

On 30 January 2016, Khazri joined Sunderland on a four and a half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[12] Khazri scored his first goal for Sunderland against Manchester United on 13 February 2016, opening the scoring with a direct free kick that beat David de Gea at his far post. Khazri later set up Lamine Koné's 82nd-minute goal from a corner, as Sunderland won 2–1.

On 7 May 2016, Khazri scored a volley in a 3–2 win over Chelsea as manager Sam Allardyce's team neared survival in the Premier League. Richard Mennear of the Sunderland Echo wrote that "His work rate was immense, pressing and probing the Chelsea defence and causing problems from set pieces. He has regained his form just at the right time".[13]

On 31 August 2017, Khazri returned to Ligue 1, signing a season-long loan at Rennes.[14] He was sent off on 14 October in a 2–0 Derby Breton loss at Guingamp, earning two yellow cards for dissent within ten seconds.[15] His nine goals helped the club to 5th place and qualification to the Europa League.[16]

Saint-Étienne
Khazri with Saint-Étienne in 2020

On 17 July 2018, Khazri transferred to Saint-Étienne for four years and chose to wear number 10.[17] He played his first match with the “Greens” on the first day of Ligue 1, 11 August against Guingamp at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard,[18] and it was on that day that he also scored his first goal in his new colors. He opened the scoring by performing a volley after a cross from the left of Loïs Diony. ASSE wins 2–1 in this game.[19] On 28 September, on behalf of the eighth day of Ligue 1, he achieved a performance at home against Monaco,[20] scoring the only two goals of the match, thus achieving his first double with Saint-Étienne.[21] On 12 January 2019, while ASSE traveled to the Stade de Roudourou to once again face Guingamp, Wahbi Khazri scored the only goal of the match on a direct free kick at ground level, deceiving the opposing goalkeeper Marc-Aurèle Caillard. This achievement allows him to bring his total of goals to ten units, a score he had never achieved before in a single season in the league. His second half of the season was less brilliant but he still ended the 2018–19 season with thirteen goals scored, making him the top scorer for his team in this exercise.

Khazri had a difficult start to the 2019–20 season. If he is decisive passer for Romain Hamouma during the victory in Dijon 1–2, it is not until the eleventh day, 27 October against Amiens, to see him score his first goal of the season, not sufficient however to obtain the victory 2–2. Khazri, who then gets injured with his selection in November, is out for several weeks.[22] Due to the state of the club's finances, he was placed on the unwanted list by Claude Puel during the 2020–21 season.[23] However, despite contacts at Turkish runner-up Trabzonspor,[24] the club failed to sell him. He is therefore reinstated in the group with a first match against Lens, where he takes a red card after a late tackle.[25] He scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot against Lille 1–1 on 29 November. His playing time is reduced compared to previous seasons, but through perseverance he manages to regain his starting position and even scores the first hat-trick of his career in the victory 4–1 against Bordeaux on 11 April 2021.[26] This match also allows him to reach the symbolic bar of 200 matches in Ligue 1.[27]

During the 2021–22 season, on 30 October, during a trip to face Metz, he scored his seventh goal of the season in Ligue 1 with a shot from 68 meters, the furthest goal in Ligue 1 since 2006, the first year in which the distances of shots were measured.[28] After the eviction of Claude Puel as manager, interim coach Julien Sablé entrusted the captain's armband to Khazri. He continued his role as captain under new coach Pascal Dupraz.[29]

Montpellier

On 27 June 2022, Khazri signed for Ligue 1 side Montpellier. He chose the number 99 jersey at the club, becoming the first player to wear the number for Montpellier.[30] On 13 August 2022, he scored his first goal for the club in 5–2 away loss to Paris Saint-Germain.[31]

International career
Khazri playing with Tunisia against Panama at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

In 2009, Khazri made his debut for the Tunisia national under-20 football team.[32] However, in November 2011, he was called up by Erick Mombaerts to the France national under-21 football team for a pair of 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifiers against Romania and Slovakia.[33] In February 2012, he played his first and only game for the French side, against Italy, before being substituted by Frédéric Bulot.[34]

In late 2012, Khazri switched his international allegiance once again, when he accepted a call-up from Sami Trabelsi, the Tunisian national team's coach, including him in the squad for the 2013 African Cup of Nations.[35] Henryk Kasperczak named Khazri among 23 Tunisians to compete at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.[36] In the final group game, a 4–2 win over Zimbabwe at the Stade d'Angondjé, he assisted Naïm Sliti and scored a penalty in a 4–2 win that put the Carthage Eagles through at the expense of a favoured Algeria side.[37]

Manager Nabil Maâloul called up Khazri for Tunisia's squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[38] In the second group match, he assisted Dylan Bronn and scored himself in added time in a 5–2 loss to Belgium in Moscow.[39] With both teams already eliminated, he then played his part in a 2–1 comeback win over Panama that was Tunisia's first at the World Cup since 1978; he set up Fakhreddine Ben Youssef and then scored the winning goal, the 2,500th in the competition's history.[40]

Khazri was the captain of the Tunisian side that came fourth at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. In their second group game, he equalised to earn a 1–1 draw with Mali in Port Suez.[41]

In the third match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification against Mauritania, on 7 October 2021, he scored his 22nd goal in the colors of Tunisia, thus becoming the second top scorer in the selection behind Issam Jemâa (36 goals).[42] On the second day of the group stage of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Khazri scored his first double of the competition against Mauritania, in a match where the Eagles of Carthage won 4–0.[43]

In November 2022, Khazri was called up to the Tunisia squad by Jalel Kadri for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[44] On 30 November, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over France in the last match of group stage, yet Tunisia were eliminated as they finished third in their group.[45] He announced his international retirement on the following day of the last World Cup match.[46]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 13 August 2023[47]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Team Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bastia 2008–09 Ligue 2 1230000——123
2009–10 Ligue 2 3120010——322
2010–11 Championnat National 3440041——385
2011–12 Ligue 2 3392100——3510
2012–13 Ligue 1 2970030——327
2013–14 Ligue 1 3261110——347
Total 171313291——18334
Bordeaux 2014–15 Ligue 1 3291010——349
2015–16 Ligue 1 20510108[lower-alpha 1]1—306
Total 5214202081—6415
Sunderland 2015–16 Premier League 1420000——142
2016–17 Premier League 2110020——231
2017–18 Championship 300020——50
Total 3830040——423
Rennes (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 1 2491042——2911
Saint-Étienne 2018–19 Ligue 1 32132110——3514
2019–20 Ligue 1 16331103[lower-alpha 1]2—236
2020–21 Ligue 1 22710———237
2021–22 Ligue 1 301010——2[lower-alpha 2]03310
Total 100337220322011437
Montpellier 2022–23 Ligue 1 27410———284
2023–24 Ligue 1 1000———10
Total 28410———294
Career total 4139414421311320461103
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in Ligue 1 relegation play-offs

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[48]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Tunisia 201372
201463
201593
201652
201771
201883
2019115
202040
202183
202293
Total7425
Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Khazri goal.
List of international goals scored by Wahbi Khazri[48]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
123 March 2013Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia Sierra Leone2–02–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification
214 August 2013Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia Congo1–03–0Friendly
35 March 2014RCDE Stadium, Barcelona, Spain Colombia1–11–1Friendly
46 September 2014Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia Botswana1–12–12015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
519 November 2014Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia Egypt2–12–12015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
611 January 2015Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia Algeria1–11–1Friendly
79 October 2015Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia Gabon3–13–3Friendly
813 November 2015Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania Mauritania1–12–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
94 September 2016Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia Liberia1–04–12017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
1011 November 2016Omar Hamadi Stadium, Algiers, Algeria Libya1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
1123 January 2017Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville, Gabon Zimbabwe4–14–22017 Africa Cup of Nations
1227 March 2018Allianz Riviera, Nice, France Costa Rica1–01–0Friendly
1323 June 2018Otkritie Arena, Moscow, Russia Belgium2–52–52018 FIFA World Cup
1428 June 2018Mordovia Arena, Saransk, Russia Panama2–12–12018 FIFA World Cup
157 June 2019Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia Iraq1–02–0Friendly
1628 June 2019Suez Stadium, Suez, Egypt Mali1–11–12019 Africa Cup of Nations
1715 November 2019Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia Libya1–04–12021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
184–1
1919 November 2019Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea1–01–02021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
203 September 2021Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Radès, Tunisia3–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
217 September 2021Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia Zambia1–02–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
227 October 2021Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Radès, Tunisia Mauritania2–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2316 January 2022Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon Mauritania2–04–02021 Africa Cup of Nations
243–0
2530 November 2022Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar France1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Bastia

Saint-Étienne

Individual

See also

References
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  2. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
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  7. "Bastia v. Vannes Match Report". Archived from the original on 5 May 2009.
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  40. Chowdhury, Saj (28 June 2018). "Panama 1–2 Tunisia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
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  45. Nick Ames (30 November 2022). "Tunisia shock much-changed France thanks to Wahbi Khazri but still go out". The Guardian.
  46. Anas Bakhkhar (1 December 2022). "Tunisie : Wahbi Khazri met un terme à sa carrière internationale". footmercato.net (in French).
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