M'Bala Nzola (born 18 August 1996) is an Angolan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Spezia and the Angola national team.
![]() Nzola with Virtus Francavilla in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | (1996-08-18) 18 August 1996 (age 26) | ||
Place of birth | Buco-Zau, Angola[1] | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Spezia | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
2010–2014 | Troyes | ||
2014–2015 | Académica | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015 | Académica | 0 | (0) |
2015–2016 | Sertanense | 25 | (7) |
2016–2017 | Virtus Francavilla | 33 | (11) |
2017–2019 | Carpi | 14 | (0) |
2018–2019 | → Trapani (loan) | 33 | (8) |
2019–2020 | Trapani | 12 | (1) |
2020 | → Spezia (loan) | 17 | (6) |
2020– | Spezia | 58 | (18) |
National team‡ | |||
2021– | Angola | 5 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:08, 30 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2021 |
On 28 January 2015, Nzola made his professional debut with Académica de Coimbra in a 2014–15 Taça da Liga match against FC Porto, coming on as a substitute in the 4–1 away loss.[3]
On 7 August 2016, he joined Lega Pro club Virtus Francavilla Calcio.[4]
On 7 August 2017, after helping Virtus Francavilla Calcio reach the Lega Pro promotion play-offs, Nzola signed a four-year deal with Carpi F.C. 1909.[5]
On 16 August 2018, he joined Serie C club Trapani on a season-long loan. Trapani held the obligation to purchase him from Carpi at the end of the loan term in case of Trapani's promotion into Serie B.[6] On 15 June he scored the first goal for the Trapani victory over Piacenza, and after that Trapani was promoted in Serie B after two years of Serie C.
On 13 January 2020, he joined Serie B club Spezia on loan with an option to purchase.[7]
On 7 October 2020, Nzola signed with Spezia a three-year contract.[8]
Being born in Angola, but raised in France, Nzola could represent both the countries at an international level.[9]
In March 2021, some months after he expressed his desire to represent Angola,[10] he received his first call-up to the national team.[11] Some days after, on 25 March 2021, he made his debut for the Palancas Negras against Gambia, in a qualifying match for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Born in Cabinda, an Angolan exclave, Nzola emigrated to France as a child.[9]
Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Académica | 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 1 | ||
Sertanense | 2015–16 | Campeonato de Portugal | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 26 | 8 | ||
Virtus Francavilla | 2016–17 | Lega Pro | 33 | 11 | 3 | 1 | – | 2[lower-alpha 1] | – | 38 | 12 | |
2017–18 | Lega Pro | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 33 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 13 | ||
Carpi | 2017–18 | Serie B | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 15 | 1 | ||
Trapani (loan) | 2018–19 | Lega Pro | 29 | 7 | 3 | 0 | – | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 36 | 8 | |
Trapani | 2019–20 | Serie B | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 14 | 2 | ||
Spezia (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie B | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | – | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 21 | 7 | |
Spezia | 2020–21 | Serie A | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 11 | ||
2021–22 | Serie A | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 2 | |||
2022–23 | Serie A | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | – | – | 13 | 7 | |||
Total | 75 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 81 | 27 | ||
Career total | 411 | 78 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 445 | 88 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Angola | 2021 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 0 |
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Spezia Calcio – current squad | |
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