M'Bala Nzola
Nzola with Virtus Francavilla in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-08-18) 18 August 1996
Place of birth Buco-Zau, Angola[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Fiorentina
Number 18
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 17 (1)
International career‡
2021– Angola 6 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:10, 22 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ 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 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 9 August 2023, he joined Fiorentina.

International career

Being born in Angola, but raised in France, Nzola could represent both the countries at an international level.[9]

In March 2021, some months after he expressed his desire to represent Angola,[10] he received his first call-up to the national team.[11] 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.[9]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 December 2023[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Académica 2014–15 Primeira Liga 00–21–21
Sertanense 2015–16 Campeonato de Portugal 25711––268
Virtus Francavilla 2016–17 Lega Pro 331131–2[lower-alpha 3]–3812
2017–18 Lega Pro 0011––11
Total 331142–203913
Carpi 2017–18 Serie B 14021––151
Trapani (loan) 2018–19 Lega Pro 29730–4[lower-alpha 3]1368
Trapani 2019–20 Serie B 12121––142
Spezia (loan) 2019–20 Serie B 17600–4[lower-alpha 4]1217
Spezia 2020–21 Serie A 251100––2511
2021–22 Serie A 21210––222
2022–23 Serie A 311322–1[lower-alpha 5]03415
Total 943232–5110235
Fiorentina 2023–24 Serie A 17111–6[lower-alpha 6]1243
Career total 224591652117325968
  1. ↑ Includes Taça de Portugal, Coppa Italia
  2. ↑ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. 1 2 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

International

As of match played 23 March 2023[13]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Angola 202131
202221
202310
Total62
Scores and results list Angola's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nzola goal.[13]
List of international goals scored by M'Bala Nzola
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
112 November 2021Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola Egypt2–02–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
21 June 2022Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola Central African Republic1–12–12023 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. 1 2 "Finale playoff: da Gyasi a Nzola, gli (altri) talenti da seguire in Spezia-Frosinone". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "CAN 2022: seleccionador nacional anunciou hoje a lista dos convocados em conferência de imprensa" (in Brazilian Portuguese). 12 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  12. ↑ M'Bala Nzola at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 "M'Bala Nzola". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
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