Adil Aouchiche

Adil Aouchiche (French pronunciation: [adil auʃiʃ]; born 15 July 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL Championship club Sunderland.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

An academy graduate of Paris Saint-Germain, Aouchiche made his professional debut on 30 August 2019 in a 2–0 league win against Metz. He started the match and played 65 minutes before getting replaced by Leandro Paredes. He scored his first goal on 5 January 2020 in a 6–0 Coupe de France win against Linas-Montlhéry. This made him the second youngest player ever to score a goal for PSG in official competitions, only behind Bartholomew Ogbeche. He made his third and final appearance for the club as a substitute in a 6–1 cup win against Dijon.

On 29 May 2020, Aouchiche underwent an introductory medical with Saint-Étienne ahead of a potential free transfer to the club. On 15 June 2020, he was nominated for the 2020 Golden Boy Award, being one of three PSG players in the 100-player shortlist.

Saint-Étienne

On 20 July 2020, Aouchiche signed for Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne. He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 league win against Lorient on 30 August, and scored his first goal on 20 September in a 2–2 draw against Nantes.

Lorient

On 1 September 2022, Aouchiche joined Ligue 1 club Lorient on a four-year contract.

Sunderland

On 1 September 2023, Aouchiche joined English club Sunderland on a five-year contract.

International career

Born in France, Aouchiche holds French and Algerian nationalities, being born to both an Algerian mother and father. He is eligible to play for either France, his nation of birth, or Algeria, the nation of his parents. He is a current French youth international. He became the focus of attention in 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship due to his goalscoring prowess. Despite being a midfielder, he scored 9 goals from 5 matches in the tournament as France reached semi-finals. He scored a hat-trick against Sweden in a group stage match and netted another four goals in quarter-final clash against Czech Republic.

He went on to break several records during the tournament including that of scoring most goals in a single U17 Euro campaign, which was previously held by his compatriots Odsonne Édouard and Amine Gouiri for scoring 8 goals in 2015 and 2017 respectively. He also became the all-time top scorer in the history of UEFA European Under-17 Championship, a feat which was previously shared by Édouard, Gouiri and Abel Ruiz. His tally of 9 goals also equalled the record for most goals in any UEFA football national-team finals tournament, which he currently shares with Michel Platini, Elena Danilova and Shekiera Martinez. His stellar performances earned him a spot in the team of the tournament.

Style of play

Aouchiche is an attacking midfielder, gifted with above-average technical skills. He excels in chance creation and dribbling.

Career statistics

As of 4 May 2024

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

• Ligue 1: 2019–20
• Coupe de France: 2019–20

France U17

• FIFA U-17 World Cup third place: 2019

Individual

• FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Ball: 2019
• UEFA European Under-17 Championship Top goalscorer: 2019
• UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2019
• Maurice Revello Tournament Best XI: 2022

References

External links

• Profile at the Paris Saint-Germain F.C. website
• Adil Aouchiche at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Adil Aouchiche at the French Football Federation (archived 2019-08-30) (in French)
• Adil Aouchiche – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French
• Adil Aouchiche – UEFA competition record (archive) 
• Adil Aouchiche at L'Équipe Football (in French)