Bilal El Khannous Explained

Bilal El Khannouss
Birth Date:10 May 2004
Birth Place:Strombeek-Bever, Belgium
Height:1.80 m
Position:Attacking midfielder
Currentclub:Genk
Clubnumber:10
Youthyears1:2009–2019
Youthclubs1:Anderlecht
Youthyears2:2019–2022
Youthclubs2:Genk
Years1:2022–
Clubs1:Genk
Caps1:77
Goals1:4
Nationalyears1:2019
Nationalteam1:Belgium U15
Nationalcaps1:3
Nationalgoals1:1
Nationalyears2:2019–2020
Nationalteam2:Belgium U16
Nationalcaps2:7
Nationalgoals2:2
Nationalyears3:2021
Nationalteam3:Belgium U18
Nationalcaps3:3
Nationalgoals3:1
Nationalyears4:2022–
Nationalteam4:Morocco U20
Nationalcaps4:4
Nationalgoals4:0
Nationalyears5:2022–
Nationalteam5:Morocco U23
Nationalcaps5:12
Nationalgoals5:1
Nationalyears6:2022–
Nationalteam6:Morocco
Nationalcaps6:14
Nationalgoals6:0
Club-Update:2 June 2024
Nationalteam-Update:8 August 2024

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.

Club career

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

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.[15]

Career statistics

Club

Club! rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Genk2021–22Belgian First Division A1010
2022–23Belgian Pro League39120411
2023–24Belgian Pro League37320120513
Career total7744012000934

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year!National team!Year!Apps!Goals
Morocco202210
202360
202460
Total130

Honours

Morocco U23

2023

Individual

Orders

2022[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: B. El Khannous. Soccerway. 22 May 2022.
  2. Web site: El Khannous verlaat Anderlecht. www.anderlecht-online.be.
  3. Web site: Jeugdinternational Bilal El Khannouss (16) tekent eerste contract | KRC Genk. Sanmax. Projects. www.krcgenk.be.
  4. Web site: ONZE PUNTEN. Niet de avond van Paul Onuachu, knap debuut van Bilal El Khannous. www.hbvl.be.
  5. Web site: 2023-01-11 . CAF announces CAF Awards 2023 Nominees for Men's Categories . 2023-11-01 . CAF . en-GB.
  6. Web site: Un joueur de Genk préfère le Maroc à la Belgique. www.footnews.be.
  7. Web site: Coupe arabe U20 : Les Lionceaux se préparent au festin face aux Requins du Djibouti. Lions De. l'Atlas. 22 June 2021.
  8. Web site: Morocco World Cup 2022 squad: Who's in and who's out? Goal.com . 10 November 2022 . www.goal.com.
  9. Web site: 10 November 2022 . Moroccan coach unveils list of 26 Atlas Lions in 2022 World Cup . 10 November 2022 . HESPRESS English - Morocco News . en-US.
  10. Web site: Bart De Vré . Bilal El Khannouss, Racing Genk, maakte een prima debuut voor Marokko: "Zeker geslaagd" . voetbalkrant.com . nl . 17 December 2022 .
  11. Web site: 9 June 2023 . Sei bianconeri con le nazionali . 27 June 2023 . . it-CH.
  12. Web site: 24 June 2023 . تشكيلة المنتخب الوطني لاقل من 23 سنة امام غينيا . 27 June 2023 . . ar.
  13. Web site: 8 July 2023 . Morocco win maiden TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title with victory over Egypt Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2023 . 9 July 2023 . CAFOnline.com.
  14. Web site: 9 July 2023 . Le Maroc remporte la CAN U23 au bout de la prolongation . 9 July 2023 . SO FOOT.com . fr-FR.
  15. Web site: 8 July 2023 . Le Mali, le Maroc et l'Égypte qualifiés pour les JO 2024 . 9 July 2023 . SO FOOT.com . fr-FR.
  16. Web site: 8 August 2024 . Egypt U23 vs Morocco U23: Olympics . 9 August 2024 . BBC Sport .
  17. Web site: 30 June 2024 . Gala du Soulier d'Or : Bilal El Khannouss élu Espoir de l'année avec un point d'avance sur Charles De Ketelaere . 30 June 2024 . DHnet . fr.
  18. Web site: Erraji . Abdellah . 5 December 2023 . Morocco's Bilal El Khannouss Wins Belgian Lion Award 2023 . 30 June 2024 . Morocco World News.
  19. Web site: 22 May 2024 . Bilal El Khannouss wint Gouden Schoen van het OSV . 30 June 2024 . K.R.C. Genk . nl.
  20. News: 27 May 2024 . KRC Genk plukt drie prijzen weg op Pro League Awards . 30 June 2024 . K.R.C. Genk . nl.
  21. News: 20 December 2022 . King receives members of national soccer team, decorates them with Royal wissams . https://web.archive.org/web/20221225111556/https://en.hespress.com/55519-king-receives-members-of-national-soccer-team-decorates-them-with-royal-wissams.html . 25 December 2022 . 10 June 2023 . HESPRESS . live.