Bilal El Khannous
Bilal El Khannouss (Arabic: بلال الخنوس; born 10 May 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Genk.[1] Born in Belgium, he plays for the Morocco national team.
| El Khannouss with Morocco in 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 May 2004 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Strombeek-Bever, Belgium | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Genk | |||||||||||||
| Number | 34 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2019 | Anderlecht | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Genk | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Genk | 67 | (4) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Belgium U15 | 3 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Belgium U16 | 7 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2021 | Belgium U18 | 3 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Morocco U20 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Morocco U23 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Morocco | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2024 | ||||||||||||||
Club career edit
A youth exponent from Anderlecht, El Khannouss moved to Genk in 2019.[2] On 24 July 2020, he signed his first professional contract.[3] He made his league debut on 21 May 2022 against Mechelen.[4]
On 1 November 2023, El Khannouss was nominated for the 2023 African Young Player of the Year by CAF.[5]
International career edit
Born in Belgium, El Khannous is of Moroccan descent.[6] A former youth international for Belgium, El Khannous switched to represent the Morocco U20s.[7]
On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[8][9] On 17 December, he made his international debut in the World Cup third-place playoff against Croatia, which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[10]
In June 2023, he was included in the final squad of the under-23 national team for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Morocco itself,[11][12] where the Atlas Lions won their first title[13][14] and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[13][15]
Career statistics edit
- As of match played 26 December 2023[1]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Genk | 2021–22 | Belgian First Division A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12[a] | 0 | — | 34 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 60 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 4 | ||
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
Honours edit
Morocco U23
Individual
- Belgian Golden Shoe Best Young Player: 2022[16]
- Belgian Lion Award: 2023[17]
Orders
- Order of the Throne: 2022[18]
References edit
- ^ a b "Belgium - B. El Khannous - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "El Khannous verlaat Anderlecht". www.anderlecht-online.be.
- ^ Projects, Sanmax. "Jeugdinternational Bilal El Khannouss (16) tekent eerste contract | KRC Genk". www.krcgenk.be.
- ^ "ONZE PUNTEN. Niet de avond van Paul Onuachu, knap debuut van Bilal El Khannous". www.hbvl.be.
- ^ "CAF announces CAF Awards 2023 Nominees for Men's Categories". CAF. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Un joueur de Genk préfère le Maroc à la Belgique". www.footnews.be.
- ^ l'Atlas, Lions De (22 June 2021). "Coupe arabe U20 : Les Lionceaux se préparent au festin face aux Requins du Djibouti".
- ^ "Morocco World Cup 2022 squad: Who's in and who's out? | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Moroccan coach unveils list of 26 Atlas Lions in 2022 World Cup". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ Bart De Vré (17 December 2022). "Bilal El Khannouss, Racing Genk, maakte een prima debuut voor Marokko: "Zeker geslaagd"". voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
- ^ "Sei bianconeri con le nazionali". FC Lugano (in Italian). 9 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ "تشكيلة المنتخب الوطني لاقل من 23 سنة امام غينيا". Royal Moroccan Football Federation (in Arabic). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ a b c "Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt | Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023". CAFOnline.com. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Le Maroc remporte la CAN U23 au bout de la prolongation". SO FOOT.com (in French). 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Le Mali, le Maroc et l'Égypte qualifiés pour les JO 2024". SO FOOT.com (in French). 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Soulier d'Or : Bilal el Khannouss élu Espoir de l'année en Belgique". 25 January 2023.
- ^ https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/144578/football-bilal-khannouss-remporte-belgian.html
- ^ "Les dix types de wissams royaux accordés par Mohammed VI".
External links edit
- ACFF Profile