Meschak Elia Lina (born 6 August 1997) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Alanyaspor and the DR Congo national team. He received the best player award after him and his team's win in the 2016 African Nations Championship.
.jpg) Elia with DR Congo in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Meschak Elia Lina | ||
| Date of birth | 6 August 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Kinshasa, DR Congo | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Alanyaspor | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | CS Don Bosco | ||
| 2016–2019 | TP Mazembe | 93 | (21) |
| 2020–2025 | Young Boys | 145 | (32) |
| 2025 | → Nantes (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2025– | Alanyaspor | 22 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016– | DR Congo | 68 | (12) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 June 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||
Club career
editIn July 2019 it was announced that Elia would sign for Belgian First Division A club Anderlecht.[1] He, however, disappeared and allegedly falsified his year of birth,[2] which resulted in a 12-month ban by the Congolese Association Football Federation.[2] In February 2020, FIFA "provisionally cleared" Elia to play again and he signed for Swiss Super League side BSC Young Boys.[2]
On 3 February 2025, Elia joined Nantes in France on loan with an option to buy.[3]
On 12 September 2025, he transferred to Turkey, joining Alanyaspor in the Süper Lig on a three-year deal.[4] He thus departs Young Boys after making exactly 200 appearances for the club, scoring 43 goals and supplying 39 assists.[5]
International career
editOn 19 May 2026, Elia was included in the 26-man DR Congo national team squad selected by head coach Sébastien Desabre for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[6]
Personal life
editIn December 2024 one of Elia's two sons died unexpectedly.[7]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 14 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| TP Mazembe | 2015–16 | Linafoot | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 11[d] | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||||||
| 2017–18 | 10[e] | 3 | 1[c] | 0 | 11 | 3 | ||||||
| 2018–19 | 10[e] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | ||||||
| Total | 93 | 21 | 34 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 130 | 29 | ||||
| Young Boys | 2019–20 | Swiss Super League | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11[f] | 1 | — | 37 | 7 | |||
| 2021–22 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 12[g] | 2 | — | 43 | 10 | |||
| 2022–23 | 31 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5[h] | 2 | — | 41 | 12 | |||
| 2023–24 | 32 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 10[i] | 2 | — | 44 | 11 | |||
| 2024–25 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6[j] | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| Total | 145 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 46 | 7 | — | 200 | 43 | |||
| Nantes (loan) | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Alanyaspor | 2025–26 | Süper Lig | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 264 | 54 | 13 | 4 | 77 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 358 | 73 | ||
- ↑ Includes Swiss Cup, Turkish Cup
- ↑ Two appearances in CAF Champions League, one appearances in CAF Confederation Cup
- 1 2 3 Appearances in CAF Super Cup
- ↑ Two appearances in CAF Champions League, nine appearances and one goal in CAF Confederation Cup
- 1 2 Appearances in CAF Champions League
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ↑ Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ↑ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
edit- As of match played 31 March 2026[8]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR Congo | 2016 | 9 | 5 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 16 | 4 | |
| 2025 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 68 | 12 | |
- Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elia goal.[9]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 January 2016 | Stade Huye, Butare, Rwanda |  Ethiopia | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2016 African Nations Championship |
| 2 | 21 January 2016 | Stade Huye, Butare, Rwanda |  Angola | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2016 African Nations Championship |
| 3 | 7 February 2016 | Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda |  Mali | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2016 African Nations Championship |
| 4 | 2–0 | |||||
| 5 | 26 March 2016 | Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo | Angola | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 6 | 9 September 2018 | Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia, Liberia |  Liberia | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 7 | 27 September 2022 | Stade Père Jégo, Casablanca, Morocco |  Sierra Leone | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 8 | 28 January 2024 | Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro, Ivory Coast |  Egypt | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 9 | 9 June 2024 | Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo |  Togo | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 15 October 2024 | Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |  Tanzania | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 11 | 2–0 | |||||
| 12 | 16 November 2025 | Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat, Morocco |  Nigeria | 1–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
editTP Mazembe
Young Boys
DR Congo
References
edit- ↑ Gleeson, Mark (4 July 2019). "Vincent Kompany turns to DR Congo's TP Mazembe for new signings". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- 1 2 3 "Meschak Elia: DR Congo star joins Young Boys until 2023 after". Kickoff. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ↑ "Meschack Elia rejoint le FC Nantes !" [Meschack Elia joins FC Nantes!] (in French). FC Nantes. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ↑ "Yeni transferlerimiz Steve Mounie, Elia Meschack ve Ruan Duarte için imza töreni düzenlendi" (in Turkish). Alanyaspor. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
- ↑ "Meschack Elia wechselt zu Alanyaspor" (in Swiss High German). BSC Young Boys. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
- ↑ Pierre Desorgues (19 May 2026). "Coupe du monde 2026: la liste des 26 joueurs congolais sans nouveaux venus et sans Afimico Pululu fait réagir". tv5monde.com. TV5 Monde. Retrieved 23 May 2026..
- ↑ "Meschack Elias Sohn verstirbt unerwartet" [Meschack Elias' son dies unexpectedly]. Berner Zeitung (in German). 11 December 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ↑ Meschack Elia at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ↑ "Mechak, Elia". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ↑ "Young Boys wins Swiss league title in 54th week of season". Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ↑ "Schweizerischer Fussballverband - Statistik und Resultate". www.football.ch (in German). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ↑ Meschak Elia at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
External links
edit- Meschak Elia at Soccerway