Ibrahima Koné (footballer, born 1999)

Ibrahima Koné
Koné playing with Sarpsborg 08 in 2021
Personal information
Full name Ibrahima Koné[1]
Date of birth (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Bamako, Mali[2]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Al-Okhdood
(on loan from Almería)
Number 9
Youth career
2016-2017 CO Bamako
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 CO Bamako
2018–2020 Haugesund 48 (8)
2020 → Adana Demirspor (loan) 5 (0)
2021–2022 Sarpsborg 08 28 (11)
2022–2023 Lorient 54 (12)
2023– Almería 9 (0)
2024– → Al-Okhdood (loan) 7 (2)
International career‡
2017–2019 Mali U20 1 (0)
2019 Mali U23 3 (0)
2017– Mali 17 (13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 October 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:37, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Ibrahima Koné (born 16 June 1999) is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Arabian club Al-Okhdood on loan from Spanish club Almería and the Mali national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Bamako, Koné began playing with hometown side CO Bamako, hiding from his family that he was playing football.[3] Promoted to the first team in 2015, he scored nine goals in his first senior season, the 2016 Malian Première Division.[4]

Haugesund

In February 2018, Koné signed for Norwegian Eliteserien club FK Haugesund on a contract until 2021.[5] He made his debut abroad on 11 March, starting in a 2–1 away win over Odds BK.

Koné scored his first goal for the club on 5 August 2018, netting the opener in a 2–1 win at Tromsø IL. On 14 July of the following year, he scored a brace in a 5–1 home routing of the same opponent.

On 12 January 2020, Koné was loaned to Turkish Süper Lig side Adana Demirspor until the end of the season.[6] However, he featured very rarely for the club, all as a substitute, before returning to Haugesund for the second stage of the 2020 campaign.

Sarpsborg 08

On 10 January 2021, Koné was transferred to fellow Eliteserien club Sarpsborg 08, signing a three-year contract with the club.[7] He was the club's top goalscorer with 11 goals during the season, which included four goals in a 5–0 home routing of Sandefjord on 29 August.

Lorient

On 31 January 2022, Koné signed a 4.5-year contact with French Ligue 1 club Lorient.[8] He made his debut for the club six days later, scoring the second in a 2–0 home win over Lens.

On 8 April 2022, Koné scored a brace in a 6–2 home success over Saint-Étienne. He finished the campaign with five goals as the club narrowly avoided relegation.

Almería

On 16 August 2023, Koné signed a five-year deal with La Liga side Almería.[9] On 16 October 2023 Koné underwent ankle surgery to repair a fractured right ankle he suffered during a friendly against Uganda, knocking him out of play for five months.[10]

Al-Okhdood (loan)

On 30 August 2024, Koné joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Okhdood on a one-year loan from Almería.[11]

International career

Koné made his debut for the Mali national team on 22 July 2017 against Gambia, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 win. His next appearance for Mali took place four years later, in a 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Rwanda on 1 September 2021.[12] On 12 January 2022, Koné scored the only goal in Mali's opening AFCON game against Tunisia, winning the game 1–0 with a penalty in the 48th minute. This particular game received international attention as referee Janny Sikazwe blew for full-time first in the 85th minute, then again in the 89th minute, creating great controversy as Tunisian coach Mondher Kebaier branded the referees actions "inexplicable".[13][14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 May 2024[15][16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Haugesund 2018 Eliteserien 22 1 5 1 — 27 2
2019 Eliteserien 16 5 5 2 6[a] 1 27 8
2020 Eliteserien 10 2 — — 10 2
Total 48 8 10 3 6 1 64 12
Adana Demirspor (loan) 2019–20 TFF First League 5 0 0 0 — 5 0
Sarpsborg 08 2021 Eliteserien 26 11 1 0 — 27 11
Lorient 2021–22 Ligue 1 16 5 — — 16 5
2022–23 Ligue 1 37 7 3 2 — 40 9
2023–24 Ligue 1 1 0 — — 1 0
Total 54 12 3 2 — 57 14
Almería 2023–24 La Liga 9 0 0 0 — 9 0
Career total 142 31 14 5 6 1 162 37
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 13 october 2023[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Mali 2017 1 3
2021 5 5
2022 9 3
2023 2 2
Total 17 13

International goals

Scores and results list Mali's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Koné goal.
List of international goals scored by Ibrahima Koné[12]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 July 2017 Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako, Mali  Gambia 1–0 4–0 2018 African Nations Championship qualification
2 2–0
3 3–0
4 7 October 2021 Stade Adrar, Agadir, Morocco  Kenya 2–0 5–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 3–0
6 4–0
7 10 October 2021 Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya  Kenya 1–0 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 11 November 2021 Nyamirambo Regional Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda  Rwanda 2–0 3–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 12 January 2022 Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon  Tunisia 1–0 1–0 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
10 16 January 2022 Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon  Gambia 1–0 1–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
11 20 January 2022 Japoma Stadium, Douala, Cameroon  Mauritania 2–0 2–0 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
12 18 June 2023 Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Congo  Congo 1–0 2–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
13 8 September 2023 Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali  South Sudan 1–0 4–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Mali" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b Ibrahima Koné at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ "Ibrahima Koné, « le Lukaku malien » de Lorient" [Ibrahima Koné, "the Malian Lukaku" of Lorient] (in French). Ligue 1. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  4. ^ "FC Lorient. Ibrahima Koné, le « Lukaku malien » chez les Merlus" [FC Lorient. Ibrahima Koné, the "Malian Lukaku" amongst the Merlus] (in French). Ouest-France. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Koné ut 2021". FK Haugesund (in Norwegian). 9 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Ibrahima Kone, Adana Demirspor'da!" [Ibrahima Kone is at Adana Demirspor!] (in Turkish). Fanatik. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Bekreftet: Kraftspiss klar for Sarpsborg 08". Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian). 10 January 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  8. ^ "IBRAHIMA KONÉ, UN AIGLE CHEZ LES MERLUS !" (Press release) (in French). Lorient. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. ^ "El Almería refuerza su ataque con Ibrahima Koné" [Almería bolster their attack with Ibrahima Koné] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Koné's surgery was successful". UD Almería. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  11. ^ "المالي كونيه من ألميريا إلى «عرين الأخدود»".
  12. ^ a b c "Ibrahima Koné". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Mali beat Tunisia after controversial ending". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Time-keeping controversy overshadows Mali's opening victory against Tunisia". the Guardian. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  15. ^ Ibrahima Koné at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  16. ^ Ibrahima Koné at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
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