Kees Smit
Dutch footballer (born 2006)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kees Henricus Petrus Smit (born 20 January 2006) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club AZ and the Netherlands national team.[2]
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Smit with AZ in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kees Henricus Petrus Smit[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 20 January 2006 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Heiloo, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | AZ | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 26 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2023 | AZ | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Jong AZ | 46 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | AZ | 45 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Netherlands U16 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Netherlands U17 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Netherlands U18 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Netherlands U19 | 16 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Netherlands U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Netherlands | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 March 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
From Heiloo, Smit joined the academy at AZ Alkmaar at nine years-old in 2015. He then became the youngest member of their under-12 squad.[3] After progressing through the ranks at AZ, he signed a three-and-a-half-year professional contract in January 2021.[4][5]
In December 2022, Smit was included with the first team squad on their mid-season break travelling training party to Valencia, Spain.[6] In January 2023, a goal Smit scored in a five-a-side indoor game went viral due to its unusual nature, as he beat the outrushing goalkeeper with shot rebounded from the side wall.[7][8][9] Later that month, Smit made his professional debut for Jong AZ in the Eerste Divisie in a home match against Helmond Sport, on 23 January 2023.[10][11]
With AZ under-19s playing in the UEFA Youth League he was part of the team that beat Barcelona and Real Madrid on consecutive rounds to reach the semi-finals in March 2023.[12][13][14] Smit scored a long range goal in the UEFA Youth League last-sixteen tie against Barcelona that brought praise.[15][16][17] He also played in the UEFA Youth League final against Hajduk Split as AZ ran out 5–0 winners.[18]
He made his UEFA Europa League debut for AZ Alkmaar on 7 November 2024 in a 3–1 home win against Fenerbahçe, scoring the second goal and being credited with an assist for the third.[19] He played in the final of the KNVB Cup as AZ lost to Go Ahead Eagles on penalties on 21 April 2025. The game had ended 1–1 in normal time after Go Ahead Eagles scored a 98th-minute equaliser.[20] The following season, he played in the 2026 KNVB Cup final, and this time scored in a 5–1 win over NEC Nijmegen on 19 April 2026.[21]
International career
In November 2021, Smit played for the Netherlands national under-16 football team against the Belgian under-16s.[22] Smit has since been selected for the Dutch U17s.[23][24] Smit played for the Dutch U19s during the 2025 UEFA European Under-19 Championship which they won for the first time, Smit became player of the tournament.[25]
Smit made his senior international debut for the Dutch national team starting in a 2–1 friendly win against Norway on 27 March 2026.[26]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 19 April 2026
| Club | Season | League | KNVB Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong AZ | 2022–23 | Eerste Divisie | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie | 29 | 2 | — | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||||
| 2024–25 | Eerste Divisie | 13 | 8 | — | — | — | 13 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 10 | — | — | — | 46 | 10 | |||||
| AZ | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 20 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7[a] | 1 | — | 30 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 24 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 16[b] | 0 | — | 44 | 5 | ||
| Total | 45 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 1 | — | 75 | 7 | |||
| Career total | 91 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 17 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 27 March 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2026 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
AZ
Netherlands U19
Individual
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship top scorer: 2025[29]
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship Player of the Tournament: 2025[30]
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2025[31]