Soufiane Rahimi
Moroccan footballer (born 1996)
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Soufiane Rahimi (Berber languages: ⵙⵓⴼⵉⴰⵏ ⵔⴰⵀⵉⵎⵉ, Arabic: سفيان رحيمي; born 2 June 1996) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a striker for UAE Pro League club Al Ain and the Morocco national team.
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Rahimi playing for Morocco in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Soufiane Rahimi[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 June 1996[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Casablanca, Morocco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Positions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al Ain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2017 | Raja CA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Raja CA | 83 | (30) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → EJS Casablanca (loan) | 28 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Al Ain | 109 | (47) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Morocco | 41 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Morocco Olympic (O.P.) | 6 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 02:58, 25 June 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18:10, 30 June 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rahimi started his professional career playing for Raja CA, before being sent on a loan to Étoile de Casablanca. Rahimi then returned back to his former club after the end of his loan, helping the club win the 2019–20 Botola, the 2018 and 2021 CAF Confederation Cup and the 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup. He then signed with UAE Pro League side Al-Ain, where he led the club to win the 2023–24 AFC Champions League, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with 13 goals.
A full international for Morocco since 2021, Soufiane represented the nation at the 2020 African Nations Championship, 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 FIFA World Cup. Rahimi was the top goalscorer of the 2020 African Nations Championship, with five goals. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, he was selected as one of the three overage players of Morocco Olympic and won a bronze medal, as well as the top scorer award.
Club career
Raja Club Athletic
Rahimi scored a total of four goals for Raja CA in 2018 CAF Confederation Cup campaign,[2] including two goals[3] in the final against AS Vita Club in Casablanca. This allowed them to qualify and play the 2019 CAF Super Cup against Espérance Sportive de Tunis; which then ended up winning after a 2–1 victory.[4]
He has been one of the highest performing players in his last two seasons in Botola, becoming a top pick for the Moroccan national team coach to join the local squad. He has been closely linked with a move to Europe, and has stated his ambition of joining the Serie A in press conferences.[5]
Al Ain
On 21 August 2021, he had played his last match with Raja CA in the 2020 Arab Club Champions Cup Final, therefore defeating Al-Ittihad in penalties; before transferring to Emirati club Al Ain.[6] On September 17, Rahimi scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 victory against Al-Ittihad Kalba.[7][8] On 12 November 2022, Rahimi scored a double against Sharjah.[9] On 7 November 2023, Rahmi scored in a 3–2 victory against Al Fayha in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League to qualify his team into the Knock-out stages.[10] In the Round of 16, Rahimi scored the winning goal against Nasaf to qualify the team to the Quarter-finals.[11] Rahimi went on to score the winning goal in a 1–0 victory against Al Nassr in the first leg of the quarter-finals and two goals in the second leg.[12][13] On 15 March 2023, Rahimi scored his first ever hat-trick for the club in a 4–0 win against Ajman.[14] In the first leg of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League Semi-final, Rahimi scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Al Hilal SFC, putting an end to Al Hilal 34 game winning streak.[15][16][17] In the 2024 AFC Champions League final, Al Ain won 6–3 in aggregate against Yokohama F. Marinos, with Rahimi scoring a brace in the second leg, and winning the Most Valuable Player and Top scorer awards.[18]
On 24 October 2024, Rahimi along with his international teammate Achraf Hakimi, were nominated for the 2024 African Footballer of the Year award.[19][20]
International career
In 2018, Rahimi was called up to the Moroccan national A' team by Jamal Sellami.[21] Rahimi represented Morocco in the 2020 African Nations Championship, scoring a double in his third game of the group stages against Uganda.[22] He scored in the quarter-finals in a 3–1 victory against Zambia.[23] Morocco won an astonishing 4–0 in the semi-finals against Cameroon.[24] With this performance, Rahimi managed of scoring a total of five goals thus helping his country to achieve the title and becoming the first and only country to win the Championship back to back. He was awarded top scorer and best player of the tournament.[25]
Over two years after his last appearances with the national team, Rahimi was included in Morocco's squad for the friendlies against Angola and Mauritania in March 2024.[26][27] He came off the bench against Angola and helped create the own-goal by David Carmo. Morocco won 1–0.[28][29]
Rahimi was selected for Morocco's squad to compete in the men's football at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[30] In the opening match of the group stage, Rahimi scored a brace in a 2–1 victory against Argentina.[31][32] He then scored a goal in a 2–1 defeat against Ukraine and a goal in a 3–0 victory against Iraq,[33][34] thus surpassing Ahmed Faras and becoming the top Moroccan goalscorer for the Summer Olympics with four goals.[35] Rahimi ended the Olympics scoring a total of 8 goals in 6 appearances, becoming the first player to score in all 6 games of a single Olympic edition.[36][37] On 11 December 2025, Rahimi was called up to the Morocco squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[38]
On 26 May 2026, Rahimi was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[39] On 24 June, he scored his first World Cup goal and provided an assist in a 4–2 victory over Haiti.[40]
Personal life
Born in Casablanca, Soufiane Rahimi is the older brother of Houssine Rahimi, who is also a footballer.[citation needed]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 21 January 2025[41]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| EJS Casablanca | 2017–18 | Botola 3 | 28 | 17 | — | — | — | — | 28 | 17 | ||||
| Raja CA | 2018–19 | Botola | 26 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | 16[c] | 4 | 3[d] | 0 | 49 | 10 | |
| 2019–20 | Botola | 28 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | 9[e] | 3 | 5[f] | 1 | 43 | 14 | ||
| 2020–21 | Botola | 29 | 14 | 2 | 0 | — | 12[g] | 5 | 7 | 1 | 50 | 20 | ||
| Total | 83 | 30 | 7 | 0 | — | 37 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 142 | 44 | |||
| Al Ain | 2021–22 | UAE Pro League | 23 | 8 | — | 6 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 9 | |||
| 2022–23 | UAE Pro League | 26 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 3 | — | 1[h] | 0 | 38 | 14 | ||
| 2023–24 | UAE Pro League | 18 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 13[i] | 13 | — | 40 | 23 | ||
| 2024–25 | UAE Pro League | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6[i] | 5 | 2[j] | 2 | 23 | 14 | |
| Total | 80 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 19 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 130 | 60 | ||
| Career total | 191 | 80 | 15 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 56 | 30 | 18 | 4 | 300 | 121 | ||
- Includes Moroccan Throne Cup, UAE President's Cup
- Includes UAE League Cup
- Appearances in CAF Confederation Cup
- One appearance in CAF Super Cup, two appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup
- Appearances in CAF Champions League
- Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup
- One appearance in CAF Champions League, eleven appearances and five goals in CAF Confederation Cup
- Appearance in UAE Super Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League
- Appearances in FIFA Intercontinental Cup
International
- As of match played 29 June 2026[42]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2021 | 12 | 6 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 9 | 2 | |
| Total | 41 | 13 | |
- Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rahimi goal.[42]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 January 2021 | Reunification Stadium, Douala, Cameroon |  Uganda | 2–1 | 5–2 | 2020 African Nations Championship |
| 2 | 4–1 | |||||
| 3 | 31 January 2021 | Reunification Stadium, Douala, Cameroon |  Zambia | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2020 African Nations Championship |
| 4 | 3 February 2021 | Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon |  Cameroon | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2020 African Nations Championship |
| 5 | 3–0 | |||||
| 6 | 4 December 2021 | Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar |  Jordan | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2021 FIFA Arab Cup |
| 7 | 11 June 2024 | Adrar Stadium, Agadir, Morocco |  Congo | 6–0 | 6–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 12 October 2024 | Honor Stadium, Oujda, Morocco |  Central African Republic | 5–0 | 5–0 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 9 | 18 November 2024 | Honor Stadium, Oujda, Morocco |  Lesotho | 3–0 | 7–0 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 10 | 5–0 | |||||
| 11 | 18 November 2025 | Tangier Grand Stadium, Tangier, Morocco | Uganda | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 12 | 2 June 2026 | Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco |  Madagascar | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 13 | 24 June 2026 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States |  Haiti | 3–2 | 4–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup |
Honours
Raja CA
- Botola Pro: 2019–20
- CAF Confederation Cup: 2018, 2020–21
- CAF Super Cup: 2019
- Arab Club Champions Cup: 2019–20
Al Ain
- UAE Pro League: 2021–22, 2025–26
- UAE President's Cup: 2025–26[43]
- UAE League Cup: 2021–22
- AFC Champions League: 2023–24[44]
Morocco
Morocco Olympic
- Summer Olympics Bronze Medal: 2024[46]
Individual
- Botola Pro Best Player: 2019–20, 2020–21[47]
- Botola Pro Best Young player: 2018–19
- Botola Pro Top assist provider: 2020–21
- Best Player in African Nations Championship: 2020[48]
- Top Scorer in African Nations Championship: 2020[49]
- African Nations Championship Team of the Tournament: 2020[50]
- Raja CA Player of the season: 2020
- Raja CA Goal of the Season: 2021
- Pro League player of the month: September 2021,[51] November 2021,[52] February 2022,[53] October 2022,[54] February 2023,[55] September 2023
- Pro League Best Fans player of the year: 2022,[56] 2023,[57] 2024[58]
- Pro League Team of the year: 2022, 2023
- UMFP Best Moroccan Player Abroad: 2024[59]
- AFC Champions League MVP: 2023–24[18]
- AFC Champions League top scorer: 2023–24[18]
- Olympics Games top scorer: 2024[60]
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup top scorer: 2024[61]
- IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer: 2024[62]
Record
- Fastest goal in history of CHAN[63]
- Top scorer in the history of Morocco in the Olympics Games.[64]
