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M'Bala Nzola

M'Bala Nzola
Nzola with Virtus Francavilla in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-08-18) 18 August 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Buco-Zau, Angola[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Lens
(on loan from Fiorentina)
Number 8
Youth career
2010–2014 Troyes
2014–2015 Académica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Académica 0 (0)
2015–2016 Sertanense 25 (7)
2016–2017 Virtus Francavilla 33 (11)
2017–2019 Carpi 14 (0)
2018–2019 → Trapani (loan) 33 (8)
2019–2020 Trapani 12 (1)
2020 → Spezia (loan) 17 (6)
2020–2023 Spezia 77 (26)
2023– Fiorentina 33 (3)
2024– → Lens (loan) 10 (4)
International career‡
2021– Angola 6 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2023

M'Bala Nzola (born 18 August 1996) is an Angolan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Lens, on loan from Serie A club Fiorentina, and the Angola national team.

Club career

On 28 January 2015, Nzola made his professional debut with Académica de Coimbra in a 2014–15 Taça da Liga match against FC Porto, coming on as a substitute in the 4–1 away loss.[3]

On 7 August 2016, he joined Lega Pro club Virtus Francavilla Calcio.[4]

On 7 August 2017, after helping Virtus Francavilla Calcio reach the Lega Pro promotion play-offs, Nzola signed a four-year deal with Carpi F.C. 1909.[5]

On 16 August 2018, he joined Serie C club Trapani on a season-long loan. Trapani held the obligation to purchase him from Carpi at the end of the loan term in case of Trapani's promotion to Serie B.[6] On 15 June he scored the first goal for the Trapani victory over Piacenza, and after that Trapani was promoted in Serie B after two years of Serie C.

On 13 January 2020, he joined Serie B club Spezia on loan with an option to purchase.[7]

On 7 October 2020, Nzola signed with Spezia a three-year contract.[8] On 10 August 2023, he joined fellow Italian side Fiorentina.[9]

International career

Being born in Angola, but raised in France, Nzola was eligible for either country at international level.[10]

In March 2021, some months after he expressed his desire to represent Angola,[11] he received his first call-up to the national team.[12] Some days after, on 25 March 2021, he made his debut for the Palancas Negras against Gambia, in a qualifying match for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Personal life

Born in Cabinda, an Angolan exclave, Nzola emigrated to France as a child.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 December 2024[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Académica 2014–15 Primeira Liga 0 0 – 2 1 – – 2 1
Sertanense 2015–16 Campeonato de Portugal 25 7 1 1 – – – 26 8
Virtus Francavilla 2016–17 Lega Pro 33 11 3 1 – – 2[c] – 38 12
2017–18 Lega Pro 0 0 1 1 – – – 1 1
Total 33 11 4 2 – – 2 0 39 13
Carpi 2017–18 Serie B 14 0 2 1 – – – 15 1
Trapani (loan) 2018–19 Lega Pro 29 7 3 0 – – 4[c] 1 36 8
Trapani 2019–20 Serie B 12 1 2 1 – – – 14 2
Spezia (loan) 2019–20 Serie B 17 6 0 0 – – 4[d] 1 21 7
Spezia 2020–21 Serie A 25 11 0 0 – – – 25 11
2021–22 Serie A 21 2 1 0 – – – 22 2
2022–23 Serie A 31 13 2 2 – – 1[e] 0 34 15
Total 94 32 3 2 – – 5 1 102 35
Fiorentina 2023–24 Serie A 33 3 2 1 – 11[f] 3 1[g] 0 47 7
Lens 2024–25 Ligue 1 10 4 1 0 – 1[h] 0 — 12 4
Career total 250 65 18 5 2 1 12 3 12 2 294 76
  1. ^ Includes Taça de Portugal, Coppa Italia
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. ^ a b Appearance in Lega Pro promotion play-offs
  4. ^ Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
  5. ^ Appearance in Serie A relegation play-off
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  7. ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
  8. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 23 March 2023[14]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Angola 2021 3 1
2022 2 1
2023 1 0
Total 6 2
Scores and results list Angola's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nzola goal.[14]
List of international goals scored by M'Bala Nzola
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 November 2021 Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola  Egypt 2–0 2–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 1 June 2022 Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola  Central African Republic 1–1 2–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

  1. ^ "Mbala Nzola deseja representar os Palancas Negras". Luanda Post (in Portuguese). 3 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  2. ^ "M'Bala Nzola". Spezia Calcio. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Porto 4-1 Académica". ZeroZero. 16 September 2015.
  4. ^ "M'Bala Nzola è un nuovo giocatore della Virtus Francavilla Calcio" (in Italian). Virtus Francavilla Calcio. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Mercato: Nzola è ufficialmente biancorosso" (in Italian). Carpi F.C. 1909. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  6. ^ "L'attaccante 'Nzola è un calciatore del Trapani" (in Italian). Trapani. 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Mercato: colpo per l'attacco. Ecco M'Bala Nzola" (Press release) (in Italian). Spezia. 13 January 2020.
  8. ^ "UFFICIALE: Spezia, torna Nzola: ha firmato per tre stagioni".
  9. ^ "Nzola è un nuovo calciatore della Fiorentina" (in Italian). ACF Fiorentina. 10 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Finale playoff: da Gyasi a Nzola, gli (altri) talenti da seguire in Spezia-Frosinone". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  11. ^ Tinfena, Gianluca (24 November 2020). ""Da bimbo scappavo per andare a giocare Il mio sogno? Vestire la maglia dell'Angola"". La Nazione (in Italian). Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  12. ^ "CAN 2022: seleccionador nacional anunciou hoje a lista dos convocados em conferência de imprensa" (in Brazilian Portuguese). 12 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  13. ^ M'Bala Nzola at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  14. ^ a b "M'Bala Nzola". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
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