| Zakaria El Ouahdi | |
| Birth Date: | 31 December 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Hoboken, Belgium |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Position: | Right-winger, right-back |
| Currentclub: | Genk |
| Clubnumber: | 77 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Beerschot VAC |
| Youthyears2: | 2013–2018 |
| Youthclubs2: | Zulte Waregem |
| Youthyears3: | 2018–2019 |
| Youthclubs3: | Manchester IFA |
| Youthyears4: | 2019–2020 |
| Youthclubs4: | K. Berchem Sport |
| Youthyears5: | 2020–2021 |
| Youthclubs5: | K. Rupel Boom |
| Youthyears6: | 2021 |
| Years1: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs1: | RWD Molenbeek |
| Caps1: | 51 |
| Goals1: | 8 |
| Years2: | 2023– |
| Clubs2: | Genk |
| Caps2: | 37 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2023– |
| Nationalcaps1: | 19 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 23 November 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 8 August 2024 |
Zakaria El Ouahdi (born 31 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-winger or a right-back. for Belgian Pro League club Genk. Born in Belgium, he represents Morocco internationally at youth level.
El Ouahdi was born in Hoboken in the Antwerp Province in a family of eight children. His parents are of Moroccan descent.[1]
In June 2021, El Ouadhi joined the under-21 side of RWD Molenbeek.[2] After good performances, El Ouadhi was regularly invited to train with the first team, and was awarded his first professional contract on 9 September 2021.[3]
On 14 August 2021, he made his professional debut in Challenger Pro League in RWD Molenbeek's 3–1 victory against Royal Excel Mouscron.[4] On 3 October, he scored his first goal in professional, awarding a 2-1 win for his club against Deinze.[5]
On 12 March 2023, El Ouadhi scored his first career hattrick against Club NXT, offering an important 3-2 win for RWD Molenbeek for their fight for promotion.[6] [7] He terminated the 2022-23 season by winning the league with RWD Molenbeek and gained a promotion to the Jupiler Pro League.[8] [9] El Ouadhi named was as Molenbeek's player of the season and figured in the league's best XI of the season.[10]
On 5 September 2023, El Ouahdi signed for Genk on an initial three-year deal with the option for a further twelve months.[11]
Holding both Belgian and Moroccan citizenship, El Ouadhi chose to represent Morocco in international level. On 9 June 2023, he was called up by coach Issame Charaï in Morocco U-23 squad for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.[12] El Ouadhi appeared in four out of five matches during the tournament, and scored one goal against Mali U-23 in the semi-final match.[13] Morocco U-23 won the tournament as El Ouadhi figured in the competition's team of the tournament as the best right-back.[14] [15]
El Ouadhi earned his first senior call-up for 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Gabon and Lesotho in September 2024, but remained on the bench for both games.[16] [17]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Rupel Boom | 2020-21 | Belgian National Division 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| RWD Molenbeek | 2021-22 | Challenger Pro League | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2022-23 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 7 | |||||
| 2023-24 | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 8 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 56 | 8 | ||||
| Genk | 2023-24 | Belgian Pro League | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2024-25 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 40! | 1 | ||||
| Career Total | 89 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 98 | 9 | |||
RWD Molenbeek
Morocco U-23
Individual