Souffian El Karouani
|
El Karouani in 2023 with Utrecht | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 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 | Utrecht | ||
| 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– | Utrecht | 88 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021– | Morocco | 5 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:30, 1 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:37, 6 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Souffian El Karouani (Arabic: سفيان الكرواني; born 19 October 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Eredivisie club Utrecht. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Morocco national team.
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]
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.[9]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 1 March 2026[10]
| Club | Season | League | KNVB Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| NEC | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21[a] | Eerste Divisie | 38 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 43 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 33 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 3 | |||
| Total | 104 | 5 | 7 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | 114 | 6 | |||
| Utrecht | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14[c] | 1 | — | 39 | 3 | ||
| Total | 88 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 1 | — | 108 | 5 | |||
| Career total | 192 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 222 | 11 | ||
- ^ Season curtailed due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
- ^ Appearance(s) in Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 14 October 2025[11]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 0 | |
Honours
Individual
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: May 2022,[12] November 2022,[13] March 2025,[14] April 2025[15]
References
- ^ a b Souffian El Karouani at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ a b c "Souffian El Karouani". NEC Nijmegen (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Proper wordt later toegevoegd aan selectie NEC". Omroep Gelderland (in Dutch). 12 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "El Karouani tekent eerste profcontract bij N.E.C." NEC (in Dutch). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "NEC biedt volop vermaak in Goffert, FC Eindhoven figureert". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 3 October 2020.
- ^ "NEC verslaat NAC in slotfase en keert na vier jaar terug in de eredivisie". nos.nl (in Dutch). 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Eerste aanwinst 2023/2024: Souffian El Karouani naar FC Utrecht" (in Dutch). FC Utrecht. 26 April 2023.
- ^ "FIFA". FIFA. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Souffian El Karouani at Soccerway
- ^ "Souffian El Karouani". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
- ^ "Seven clubs provide players for Eredivisie team of the month (May)". eredivisie.eu. 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Taylor Booth named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for November". Eredivisie. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- ^ "Sparta Rotterdam leads Eredivisie Team of the Month for March". Eredivisie. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
- ^ "FC Utrecht dominates Eredivisie Team of the Month". Eredivisie. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
External links
- Souffian El Karouani at WorldFootball.net (archive)
- Souffian El Karouani at Soccerway (archive)