Souffian El Karouani

Souffian El Karouani
El Karouani with Morocco in 2026
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-10-19) 19 October 2000[1]
Place of birth 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Al-Qadsiah
Number 16
Youth career
–2008 TGG
2008–2012 Den Bosch
2012–? BVV
?–2017 Elinkwijk
2017–2019 NEC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 NEC 104 (5)
2023–2026 Utrecht 97 (4)
2026– Al-Qadsiah 0 (0)
International career‡
2021– Morocco 6 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:25, 17 May 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026

Souffian El Karouani (Arabic: سفيان الكرواني; born 19 October 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Morocco national team.

Club career

Youth career

El Karouani played in the youth teams of TGG, Den Bosch,[3] BVV, Elinkwijk and NEC.[2]

NEC

2019–20 season

In 2019, he was promoted to NEC's first team.[4] He made his debut for the club on 9 August 2019, in the home match against FC Eindhoven which was lost 1–2.[2] El Karouani came on as a substitute for Anthony Musaba in the 68th minute. On 2 July 2020, he signed a one-year contract with NEC which included an option on another season.[5]

2020–21 season

In the 2020–21 season, he became the starting left back in an attacking NEC led by head coach Rogier Meijer.[3] On 3 October, El Karouani scored his first goal for the club in the home game against FC Eindhoven, which was won 6–0.[6] On 23 May 2021, El Karouani won promotion to the Eredivisie with NEC, by beating NAC Breda 1–2 in the final of the play-offs. He provided the assist to the winning goal by Jonathan Okita, which meant that the club returned to the highest Dutch division after an absence of four year.[7] He finished the season with 43 appearances in which he scored 3 goals, and his 8 assists were the most in the team.[1]

Utrecht

On 26 April 2023, El Karouani signed a three-year contract with Utrecht, set to commence from the 2023–24 season.[8]

Al-Qadsiah

On 4 June 2026, Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah signed El Karouani on a contract running until the summer of 2029.[9]

International career

Born in the Netherlands, El Karouani is Moroccan by descent. He debuted with the Morocco national team in a 3–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Guinea-Bissau on 9 October 2021.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 May 2026[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League KNVB Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
NEC 2019–20 Eerste Divisie 2000——20
2020–21[a] Eerste Divisie 38320—3[b]0433
2021–22 Eredivisie 31020——330
2022–23 Eredivisie 33231——363
Total 104571—301146
Utrecht 2023–24 Eredivisie 31020——330
2024–25 Eredivisie 34220——362
2025–26 Eredivisie 3222014[c]11[d]1494
Total 97460141111186
Career total 20191311414123212
  1. ↑ Season curtailed due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
  2. ↑ Appearance(s) in Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ↑ Appearance in European play-offs

International

As of match played 31 March 2026[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Morocco 202130
202520
202610
Total60

Honours

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 Souffian El Karouani at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Souffian El Karouani". NEC Nijmegen (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 Martens, Jan (5 December 2020). "Souffian El Karouani is de Bossche joker van NEC: 'Ik heb plezier in wat ik doe'". Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Proper wordt later toegevoegd aan selectie NEC". Omroep Gelderland (in Dutch). 12 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "El Karouani tekent eerste profcontract bij N.E.C." NEC (in Dutch). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "NEC biedt volop vermaak in Goffert, FC Eindhoven figureert". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 3 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "NEC verslaat NAC in slotfase en keert na vier jaar terug in de eredivisie". nos.nl (in Dutch). 23 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "Eerste aanwinst 2023/2024: Souffian El Karouani naar FC Utrecht" (in Dutch). FC Utrecht. 26 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "AlQadsiah Strengthen the Left Flank with the Signing of Moroccan Defender Souffian El Karouani". Al-Qadsiah. 4 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "FIFA". FIFA. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  11. ↑ Souffian El Karouani at Soccerway
  12. ↑ "Souffian El Karouani". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Seven clubs provide players for Eredivisie team of the month (May)". eredivisie.eu. 20 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Taylor Booth named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for November". Eredivisie. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "Sparta Rotterdam leads Eredivisie Team of the Month for March". Eredivisie. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  16. ↑ "FC Utrecht dominates Eredivisie Team of the Month". Eredivisie. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
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