Aïssatou Tounkara (born 16 March 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Première Ligue club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team.

Aïssatou Tounkara
Tounkara with Atlético Madrid in 2018
Personal information
Full name Aïssatou Tounkara[1]
Date of birth (1995-03-16) 16 March 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Paris Saint-Germain
Number 23
Youth career
2006–2008 Buttes Chaumont SC
2008–2010 Issy
2010–2014 Juvisy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2018 Juvisy[a] 87 (3)
2018–2022 Atlético Madrid 83 (6)
2022–2023 Manchester United 1 (0)
2023– Paris Saint-Germain 7 (0)
International career
2011 France U16 3 (0)
2012 France U17 14 (0)
2013–2014 France U19 17 (0)
2014 France U20 7 (1)
2015–2016 France U23 4 (0)
2016– France 40 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 August 2023

Club career

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Tounkara receiving a yellow card while playing for Juvisy on 9 December 2012.

Tounkara started her career at the Buttes Chaumont FC club, where she stayed until the fall of 2008 when she joined the Football Féminin Issy-les-Moulineaux, whose team was then in Division 2 Féminine. In the offseason of 2010, Tounkara joined FCF Juvisy in the Division 1 Féminine.[citation needed]

On 10 August 2022, Tounkara joined English Women's Super League side Manchester United on a two-year contract.[2][3] On 30 June 2023, it was announced that Tounkara would leave the club after just one season. She made five appearances in all competitions including one in the league.[4]

On 21 August 2023, Tounkara joined Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract.[5]

International career

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Youth

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She was part of several French youth teams. She debuted for the France U16 team against Norway on 4 July 2011.[6] Tounkara also represented France in many international competitions. In 2012, she was part of the squad that played at the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, in which France finished second. In September of the same year, she was called to represent France at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan. Tounkara was a titular along the whole tournament and played the final match in which France defeated North Korea on penalties and became champions.[7] In August 2013, Tounkara traveled to Wales to represent France U19 at the 2013 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. The team did very well, defeating England in the great final and taking the title. In August 2014, Tounkara was called to represent France U20 at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada.[8] The French team finished third.

Senior

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In 2017, she was part of the squad that represented France at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017.[9] She also featured for France at the 2022 UEFA Women's Euro where France reached the semi-finals after being eliminated by Germany.[10]

On 7 July 2023, Tounkara replaced the injured Amandine Henry in France's squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[11]

Personal life

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Born in France, Tounkara is of Gambian descent.[12]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 18 December 2022.[13][14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[b] League Cup[c] Continental[d] Other[e] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Juvisy 2011–12 D1F 3 0 0 0 3 0
2012–13 D1F 10 0 0 0 2 0 12 0
2013–14 D1F 10 3 1 0 11 3
2014–15 D1F 19 0 3 1 22 1
2015–16 D1F 19 0 2 0 21 0
2016–17 D1F 20 0 3 0 23 0
2017–18 D1F 6 0 1 0 7 0
Total 87 3 10 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 99 4
Atlético Madrid 2018–19 Primera División 22 2 4 0 3 0 29 2
2019–20 Primera División 20 1 1 0 5 0 1 0 27 1
2020–21 Primera División 26 1 2 0 3 1 1 0 32 2
2021–22 Primera División 15 2 1 0 1 0 17 2
Total 83 6 8 0 0 0 11 1 3 0 105 7
Manchester United 2022–23 Women's Super League 1 0 0 0 4 0 5 0
Career total 171 9 18 1 4 0 13 1 3 0 209 11

International

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As of 8 August 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
France 2016 1 0
2017 3 0
2018 3 0
2019 7 0
2020 4 0
2021 11 2
2022 10 1
2023 1 0
Total 40 3
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tounkara goal.
List of international goals scored by Aïssatou Tounkara
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 October 2021 Stade Dominique Duvauchelle, Créteil, France   Estonia 8–0 11–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
2 9–0
3 1 July 2022 Stade de la Source, Orléans, France   Vietnam 7–0 7–0 Friendly

Honours

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Atlético Madrid[13]

Paris Saint-Germain

France U17[13]

France U19[13]

France[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ Renamed as Paris FC prior to the 2017–18 season.
  2. ^ Includes the Coupe de France, Copa de la Reina and FA Cup
  3. ^ Includes the FA Women's League Cup
  4. ^ Includes the UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Includes the Supercopa de España

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 – Squad List: France (FRA)" (PDF). FIFA. 11 July 2023. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ "United Women sign Aissatou Tounkara". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Transferts : Aïssatou Tounkara signe à Manchester United". L'Équipe (in French). 10 August 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Four players to leave United Women". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 30 June 2023. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Aïssatou Tounkara joins Paris Saint-Germain". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Amical Äanekski Äanenkosken Liikuntapuisto Lundi 4 Juillet 2011". Fédération Française de football. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  7. ^ "FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Azerbaijan 2012 – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  8. ^ "La liste pour le mondial Canadien". Fédération Française de football. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Les Joueuses pour L'Euro 2017". Fédération Française de football. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Aissatou Tounkara: Manchester United Women sign France defender". Sky Sports. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Amandine Henry forfait pour la Coupe du monde (officiel)" [Amandine Henry forfeits the World Cup (official)]. L'Equipe (in French). 7 July 2023. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  12. ^ "AÏSSATOU TOUNKARA : Surdouée du ballon rond". 2 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Aïssatou Tounkara soccerway profile". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Footofeminin.fr - Aïssatou Tounkara". www.statsfootofeminin.fr. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Fédération Française de Football". www.fff.fr. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  16. ^ "LE PSG PUISSANCE 4" (in French). 4 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
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