Youcef Atal

Youcef Atal (Arabic: يوسف عطال; born 17 May 1996) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Algeria national team. He mainly plays as a right-back, but can also play as a left winger.

Youcef Atal
Atal with Nice in 2022
Personal information
Full name Youcef Atal[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-17) 17 May 1996
Place of birth Boghni, Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back / Winger
Team information
Current team
 Nice
Number 20
Youth career
2006–2008 CR Belouizdad
2008–2011 JS Kabylie
2011–2012 USM Alger
2012–2014 JS Kabylie
2014–2015 Paradou AC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Paradou AC 46 (5)
2017–2018 → Kortrijk (loan) 10 (0)
2018– Nice 117 (12)
International career‡
2017– Algeria 29 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Algeria
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner2019 Egypt
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:32, 19 November 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Atal joined French club Nice from Paradou AC in 2018. He underwent knee surgery in December 2019.[3]

International career

On 1 June 2017, Atal was called up to the Algeria national team for the first time for a friendly match against Guinea and a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo.[4]

Personal life

On 14 October 2023, amidst the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Atal posted a video on social media of Palestinian preacher Mahmoud al-Hasanat asking god to "send Jewish people a dark day". He quickly removed the video after receiving criticism, notably from Nice mayor Christian Estrosi, who stated that unless Atal "denounces Hamas terrorists, he no longer has a place at [OGC Nice]".[5] Atal subsequently published a message on Instagram apologizing for posting the video, and clarified his beliefs by stating that he "denounce[s] all forms of violence".[5] On 16 October, the Nice public prosecutor's office initiated a preliminary investigation into Atal on charges of "defending terrorism".[6] Two days later, OGC Nice suspended Atal until further notice after the alleged antisemitic post.[7]

Career statistics

International
As of match played 19 November 2022[8]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Algeria 201740
201821
2019120
202140
202271
Total292
Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first.[8]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 18 November 2018Stade Municipal, Lomé, Togo6 Togo2–04–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[9]
2 27 September 2022Olympic Stadium, Oram, Algeria28 Nigeria2–12–1Friendly[10]

Honours

Paradou AC

Nice

Algeria

References
  1. "Algeria" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 15 June 2019. p. 1. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. "Youcef Atal". OGC Nice. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. "Youcef Atal: Algeria international to have knee surgery". BBC Sport. 8 December 2019.
  4. M-A-D (1 June 2017). "EN : 25 joueurs convoqués par Alcaraz, beaucoup de nouveautés". DZfoot (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  5. "OGC Nice's Youcef Atal apologises for anti-semitic social media post - Get French Football News". 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. "Youcef Atal: Nice and Algeria defender investigated for alleged antisemitic social media post". BBC Sport. 16 October 2023.
  7. "Youcef Atal: Nice suspend Algeria defender for alleged antisemitic social media post". BBC Sport. 18 October 2023.
  8. "Youcef Atal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  9. "Afcon 2019: Mahrez brace helps Algeria qualify for Nations Cup". BBC Sport. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  10. "Algeria vs. Nigeria - Football Match Summary". ESPN. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  11. "Ludovic Blas penalty wins French Cup for Nantes". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  12. Rose, Gary (19 July 2019). "Senegal 0–1 Algeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
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