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.

Ameen Al-Dakhil

Personal information
Full name	Ameen Al-Dakhil[1]
Date of birth	(2002-03-06) 6 March 2002 (age 23)[1]
Place of birth	Baghdad, Iraq[2]
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s)	Centre-back[4]
Team information
Current team	VfB Stuttgart
Number	2
Youth career
2009–2011	Kortenaken
2011–2012	Hoegaarden-Outgaarden
2012–2013	Tienen
2013–2017	Anderlecht
2017–2021	Standard Liège
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–2022	Standard Liège	13	(0)
2022–2023	Sint-Truiden	25	(0)
2023–2024	Burnley	21	(1)
2024–	VfB Stuttgart	7	(0)
2024	VfB Stuttgart II	2	(0)
International career‡
2018–2019	Belgium U17	7	(1)
2019	Belgium U18	1	(0)
2022	Belgium U20	1	(0)
2022–2023	Belgium U21	4	(0)
2023–	Belgium	6	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:31, 30 March 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:16, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

Early life

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]

Club career

Standard Liege

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]

Sint–Truiden

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

Burnley

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]

Vfb Stuttgart

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

International career

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]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 April 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Standard Liège	2021–22[1]	Belgian Pro League	13	0	1	0	—		—		14	0
Sint-Truidense	2021–22[1]	Belgian Pro League	9	0	—		—		—		9	0
	2022–23[1]	Belgian Pro League	16	0	3	0	—		—		19	0
	Total		25	0	3	0	—		—		28	0
Burnley	2022–23[1]	Championship	8	0	4	0	—		—		12	0
	2023–24[1]	Premier League	13	1	1	0	3	0	—		17	1
	Total		21	1	5	0	3	0	—		29	1
VfB Stuttgart	2024–25[1]	Bundesliga	7	0	1	0	—		3[c]	0	11	0
VfB Stuttgart II	2024–25[1]	3. Liga	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
Career total			68	1	10	0	3	0	3	0	84	1

1. Includes Belgian Cup, FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 17 November 2024^[14]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Belgium	2023	4	0
	2024	2	0
Total		6	0