Saël Kumbedi
French footballer (born 2005)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saël Kumbedi Nseke (born 26 March 2005) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.[2]
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Kumbedi with Lyon in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Saël Kumbedi Nseke | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 March 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Stains, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | VfL Wolfsburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Paris Saint-Germain | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | CC Taverny | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Le Havre | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Le Havre B | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Le Havre | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Lyon B | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2025 | Lyon | 52 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | → VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | VfL Wolfsburg | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | France U17 | 15 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | France U18 | 7 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | France U19 | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | France U20 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | France U21 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 March 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
A former youth academy player of Paris Saint-Germain and CC Taverny, Kumbedi joined Le Havre in 2019.[3] He made his senior team debut for the club on 13 November 2021 in a 2–0 cup win against Vierzon.[4]
Olympique Lyon
On 31 August 2022, Kumbedi signed a three-year contract with Olympique Lyon until June 2025.[5]
VfL Wolfsburg
On 28 August 2025, Kumbedi moved to Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy for €6 million.[6] On 22 December, Wolfsburg triggered the purchase option, making Kumbedi a permanent signing.[7]
International career
Born in France, Kumbedi is of Congolese descent.[8] He is a French youth international. In April 2022, he was named in France under-17 team squad for 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[9] On 1 June 2022, he scored two goals in the final of the tournament in a 2–1 win against Netherlands.[10]
Career statistics
- As of match played 25 April 2026[2]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Le Havre B | 2022–23 | National 3 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Le Havre | 2021–22 | Ligue 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Ligue 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Lyon B | 2022–23 | National 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Lyon | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 63 | 0 | ||
| VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Bundesliga | 12 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 93 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 104 | 0 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France, DFB-Pokal
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
Lyon
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2023–24[11]
France U17
France U19
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2024[13]
France U20
