Meschak Elia

In this Congolese name, the surname is Elia and the post-surname is Lina.

Meschak Elia Lina (born 6 August 1997) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss Super League club Young Boys 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.

Meschak Elia

Elia with DR Congo in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Meschak Elia Lina
Date of birth	(1997-08-06) 6 August 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	Kinshasa, DR Congo
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Young Boys
Number	15
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	CS Don Bosco
2016–2019	TP Mazembe	93	(21)
2020–	Young Boys	145	(32)
2025	→ Nantes (loan)	8	(1)
International career‡
2016–	DR Congo	50	(11)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15 October 2024

Club career

In 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]

Personal life

In December 2024 one of Elia's two sons died unexpectedly.^[4]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 April 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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	8[j]	0	—		25	1
	2025–26		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		145	32	11	4	46	7	—		202	43
Nantes (loan)	2024–25	Ligue 1	8	1	—		—		—		8	1
Career total			246	54	11	4	77	15	3	0	337	73

1. Includes Swiss Cup
2. Two appearances in CAF Champions League, one appearances in CAF Confederation Cup
3. Appearances in CAF Super Cup
4. Nine appearances and one goal in CAF Confederation Cup, two appearances in CAF Champions League
5. Appearances in CAF Champions League
6. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
7. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
8. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
9. Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
10. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 15 October 2024^[5]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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	14	4
Total		50	11

Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elia goal.^[6]

List of international goals scored by Meschak Elia

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

Honours

TP Mazembe

• Linafoot: 2015–16, 2016-17
• CAF Confederation Cup: 2016, 2017
• CAF Super Cup: 2016

Young Boys

• Swiss Super League: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2023–24^[7]
• Swiss Cup: 2019–20, 2022–23^[8]

DR Congo

• African Nations Championship: 2016^[9]