M'Bala Nzola

M'Bala Nzola (born 18 August 1996) is an Angolan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina and the Angola national team.

M'Bala Nzola

Nzola with Virtus Francavilla in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth	(1996-08-18) 18 August 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Buco-Zau, Angola[1]
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Fiorentina
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)
2020–2023	Spezia	77	(26)
2023–	Fiorentina	33	(3)
2024–2025	→ Lens (loan)	21	(6)
International career‡
2021–	Angola	8	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2024

Club career

On 28 January 2015, Nzola made his professional debut with Académica de Coimbra in a 2014–15 Taça da Liga match against Porto, coming on as a substitute in the 4–1 away loss.^{[citation needed]}

On 7 August 2016, he joined Lega Pro club Virtus Francavilla.^[3]

On 7 August 2017, after helping Virtus Francavilla reach the Lega Pro promotion play-offs, Nzola signed a four-year deal with Carpi.^[4]

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 to Serie B.^[5] 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.^[6]

On 7 October 2020, Nzola signed with Spezia a three-year contract.^[7] On 10 August 2023, he joined fellow Italian side Fiorentina.^[8]

International career

Being born in Angola, but raised in France, Nzola was eligible for either country at 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.

Personal life

Born in Cabinda, an Angolan exclave, Nzola emigrated to France as a child.^[9]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 11 April 2025^[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	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[c]	–	38	12
	2017–18	Lega Pro	0	0	1	1	–		–		–		1	1
	Total		33	11	4	2	–		–		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[c]	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[d]	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	31	13	2	2	–		–		1[e]	0	34	15
	Total		94	32	3	2	–		–		5	1	102	35
Fiorentina	2023–24	Serie A	33	3	2	1	–		11[f]	3	1[g]	0	47	7
Lens	2024–25	Ligue 1	21	6	1	1	–		1[h]	0	—		23	7
Career total			261	67	18	6	2	1	12	3	12	2	305	79

1. Includes Taça de Portugal, Coppa Italia
2. Includes Taça da Liga
3. Appearance in Lega Pro promotion play-offs
4. Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
5. Appearance in Serie A relegation play-off
6. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
7. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
8. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 18 November 2024^[13]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Angola	2021	3	1
	2022	2	1
	2023	1	0
	2024	2	0
Total		8	2

Scores and results list Angola's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nzola goal.^[13]

List of international goals scored by M'Bala Nzola

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 November 2021	Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola	Egypt	2–0	2–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	1 June 2022	Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola	Central African Republic	1–1	2–1	2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification