Ameen Al-Dakhil

Ameen Al-Dakhil (Arabic: أَمِين الدَّخِيل; born 6 March 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. Born in Iraq, he plays for the Belgium national team.

Al-Dakhil was born in Iraq, and moved to Belgium with his family at the age of 5, as a refugee during the Iraq War. He began playing football with the youth academies of Kortenaken, Hoegaarden-Outgaarden, Tienen, Anderlecht and Standard Liège.^[5] Originally a striker, Al-Dakhil was then converted to a centre-back.^[6]

Al-Dakhil made his professional debut for Standard Liège on 23 July 2021, in a 1–1 Belgian First Division A tie with Genk.^[7]

On 31 January 2022, Al-Dakhil moved to fellow Belgian side Sint-Truiden on a permanent deal.^[8]

On 13 January 2023, Al-Dakhil joined English side Burnley for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.^[9] On 31 January 2024, he scored his first goal for Burnley against Manchester City in a 3–1 defeat, becoming the first player born in Iraq to score in the Premier League.^[10]

On 27 August 2024, Al-Dakhil signed for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart on a four-year deal.^[11]

Born in Iraq, Al-Dakhil was raised in Belgium and holds a Belgian citizenship.^[5] He has been a youth international for Belgium, having represented the under-17, under-18 and under-21 national teams.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2020, he was called up to represent the Iraqi squad at the AFC U-19 Championship, but the tournament was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12]

In June 2023 he was called up to the senior Belgium squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Austria and Estonia on 17 and 20 June 2023 respectively.^[13]

As of match played 29 January 2025

As of match played 17 November 2024^[14]

• Ameen Al-Dakhil at Soccerway
• ACFF Profile
• Ameen Al-Dakhil – UEFA competition record (archive)