Achraf Hakimi is a professional football player that was born on the 4th of November, 1998 to Moroccan parents. He mainly plays as a right back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Morocco national team. He is also regarded as one of the best right-backs in world football and is known for his speed, runs and goal scoring ability.
He represented Morocco at various youth levels before making his international debut when he was 17 in 2016. He was previously capped by the nations’ youth teams at under-20. In May 2018, he was chosen in Morocco’s squads for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and also the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019 and 2021 in cameroon.
Hakimi made his debut for the under-23s on the 5th of June, 2016, coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 win against Canada. He scored his first international goal on the 1st of September, 2017 in a 6-0 home routing of Mali.
He started all of his matches in the group stages. He scored a free kick in a 2-2 tie against Gabon. He also scored a free kick against Malawi in the 70th minute gaining his team victory.
On the 10th of November, 2022 he was named in Morocco’s 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World cup in Qatar. He was the one that scored the winning goal in a penalty shoot-out against Spain in the round of 16 which secured a place for his country in the quarter-finals.
He has been profiled as a quick, dynamic and powerful right-sided attacking full-back or wing-back, who is tactically and technically adept and capable of playing long accurate passes from defense.
Recently, a stadium was named after him in his mother’s hometown, Ksar EL-Kebir in Morocco. This action was to honor him for his wonderful performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It was named The Achraf Hakimi Stadium.