Youcef Atal
Algerian footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Youcef Atal (Arabic: يوسف عطال; born 17 May 1996) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Algeria national team.
|
Atal with Algeria in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Youcef Atal[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 17 May 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Boghni, Algeria | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al Sadd | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | CR Belouizdad | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | JS Kabylie | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | USM Alger | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | JS Kabylie | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Paradou AC | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Paradou AC | 46 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Kortrijk (loan) | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2024 | Nice | 101 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Adana Demirspor | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Al Sadd | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017– | Algeria | 54 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 January 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:63, 31 December 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
After beginning his professional career in his native Algeria with Paradou AC, Atal was sent on loan to Belgian club KV Kortrijk in 2017. Despite a season in which he suffered a myriad of injuries, Kortrijk nevertheless decided to exercise the purchase option in the loan.[3] Atal joined French club Nice from Kortrijk in 2018, and started the opening match of the season.[4] He scored his first goal for his new side in November, recorded a hat-trick in April, and ended his first season with six total goals.[4][5] He underwent surgery in December 2019 to repair a torn meniscus.[6][7]
On 9 February 2024, Atal signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor until the end of the season.[8]
In September 2024, Al-Sadd SC of the Qatar Stars League signed Atal to a two-year contract.[9]
International career
On 1 June 2017, Atal was called up to the Algeria national team for the first time for a friendly match against Guinea and a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo.[10]
In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[11]
Controversy
On 14 October 2023, amidst the Gaza war, Atal posted a video on social media of Palestinian preacher Mahmoud al-Hasanat asking God to "send Jewish people a dark day". He quickly removed the video after receiving criticism, notably from Nice mayor Christian Estrosi, who stated that unless Atal "denounces Hamas terrorists, he no longer has a place at [OGC Nice]".[12] Atal subsequently published a message on Instagram apologizing for posting the video, and clarified his beliefs by stating that he "denounce[s] all forms of violence".[12] On 16 October, the Nice public prosecutor's office initiated a preliminary investigation into Atal on charges of "defending terrorism".[13] Two days later, OGC Nice suspended Atal until further notice after the anti-Semitic post.[14] On 25 October, he was suspended for seven matches by the Ligue de Football Professionnel for posting the message.[15]
On the 24 November, Atal was detained by French Police over the anti-Semitic posts.[16] In January 2024, Atal was convicted of inciting religious hatred and given an eight-month suspended sentence.[17]
Career statistics
International
- As of match played 31 December 2025[18]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 2 | |
- Algeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Atal goal.[18]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2018 | Stade Municipal, Lomé, Togo | 6 |  Togo | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [19] |
| 2 | 27 September 2022 | Olympic Stadium, Oran, Algeria | 28 |  Nigeria | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | [20] |
