Nouhou Tolo
Nouhou with Seattle Sounders FC in 2017
Personal information
Full name Nouhou Tolo[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-23) 23 June 1997 (age 26)[1]
Place of birth Douala, Cameroon
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Seattle Sounders FC
Number 5
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Rainbow Bamenda
2016 Seattle Sounders FC 2 24 (0)
2017– Seattle Sounders FC 146 (1)
2017–2018 → Tacoma Defiance[2] (loan) 8 (1)
International career‡
2017 Cameroon U20 1 (0)
2019 Cameroon U23 1 (0)
2017– Cameroon 23 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Cameroon
Africa Cup of Nations
Third place 2021 Cameroon
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:02, 11 April 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 April 2023

Nouhou Tolo (/ˈnuːhuː ˈtoʊloʊ/; born 23 June 1997), sometimes known mononymically as Nouhou, is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer and the Cameroon national team.[3] He represented Cameroon at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations[4] and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Nouhou began his career in 2015 with Rainbow Bamenda, where he played for one season. A contract dispute over who owned his rights between teams in Cameroon initially blocked his transfer to the United States,[5] but in April 2016, Nouhou signed with Seattle Sounders FC 2.[6] He made 24 league appearances and lead the team in minutes played.[3]

Nouhou signed with Seattle Sounders FC on 26 January 2017, earning his first team contract after performing admirably for S2 in 2016, according to General Manager Garth Lagerway.[3] Nouhou scored his first professional goal while loaned down to S2 on 15 April 2017, the second goal in a 2–1 away win over LA Galaxy II.[7]

Nouhou made his Seattle Sounders FC debut on 31 May 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 loss to Columbus Crew.[8] He quickly became a fan favorite amongst Sounders FC supporters, often known for his showmanship during matches.[9] Nouhou was named to the 2021 MLS All-Star Game roster.[10] He scored his first goal for the Sounders against the Houston Dynamo on 4 September 2022. He also registered an assist in the game, earning Man of the Match honors.[11]

International career

In February 2017, Nouhou was called up to represent the Cameroon U20s in the 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Zambia.[12] Nouhou made his under-20 debut on 27 February 2017, starting at left back in a 3–1 loss against South Africa in the first group stage game of the tournament.[13]

Nouhou made his debut for the Cameroon national team in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 2–2 tie with Zambia on 11 November 2017.[14]

On November 9, 2022, Nouhou was named in Cameroon's final 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[15] He started all three matches for his country, including their historic 1-0 victory over Brazil.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 October 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Seattle Sounders FC 2 2016[17] USL 24 0 — — — 24 0
2017[17] USL 6 1 — — — 6 1
2018[17] USL 1 0 — — — 1 0
Total 31 1 — — — 31 1
Tacoma Defiance 2019[17] USL 1 0 — — — 1 0
Seattle Sounders FC 2017[18] MLS 19 0 2 0 — 5[a] 0 26 0
2018[18] MLS 28 0 — 1[b] 0 2[a] 0 31 0
2019[18] MLS 22 0 1 0 — 2[a] 0 25 0
2020[18] MLS 22 0 — 2[b] 0 4[a] 0 28 0
2021[18] MLS 19 0 — — — 19 0
2022[18] MLS 30 1 1 0 7[b] 0 0 0 38 1
Total 140 1 4 0 10 0 13 0 167 1
Career total 172 2 4 0 10 0 13 0 199 2
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  2. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League

International

As of match played 29 March 2022[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cameroon 2017 1 0
2021 5 0
2022 8 0
Total 14 0

Personal life

Nouhou is Muslim.[20]

Honours

Seattle Sounders FC

Cameroon

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™: List of Players: Seattle Sounders FC" (PDF). FIFA. 7 February 2023. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  2. ^ Formerly known as Seattle Sounders FC 2 until the 2019 season.
  3. ^ a b c "Sounders FC signs defender Nouhou Tolo". SoundersFC.com. Sounders FC Communications. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Africa Cup of Nations (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Sounders sign Cameroonian defender Nouhou Tolo". Seattletimes.com. Seattle Times. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Seattle Sounders FC 2 sign Cameroonian defender Nouhou Tolo". SoundersFC.com. Sounders FC Communications. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  7. ^ Ari Liljenwall (15 April 2017). "Sounders FC 2 earn road win at LA Galaxy II behind Nouhou goal". SoundersFC.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Sounders FC falls short with 3-0 road loss at Columbus". SoundersFC.com. Sounders FC Communications. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  9. ^ Pentz, Matt (27 May 2021). "'With Nouhou, what can you say?': The Sounders' beloved cult hero is thriving in a new role". The Athletic. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. ^ Evans, Jayda (14 May 2022). "Nouhou has had a breakout year on the world stage, and the Sounders may not be able to keep him for long". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  11. ^ Evans, Jayda (4 September 2022). "Nouhou gets his first goal with Sounders as they beat Dynamo to keep playoff hopes alive". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  12. ^ Graeme Jackson (22 February 2017). "Junior Lions confirm squad for U-20 AFCON". AfricanFootball.com. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  13. ^ Austin Ditlhobolo (27 February 2017). "Singh inspires South Africa to victory in U20 AFCON clash". AfricanFootball.com. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  14. ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ - Matches - Zambia-Cameroon - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
  15. ^ "World Cup: Philly's Olivier Mbaizo, Seattle's Nouhou make Cameroon roster". mlssoccer.com. MLS Soccer.
  16. ^ "2022 FIFA World Cup, Group Stage - Matches - Cameroon-Brazil". ESPN.com. ESPN.
  17. ^ a b c d Nouhou Tolo at USL Championship
  18. ^ a b c d e f Nouhou Tolo at Major League Soccer
  19. ^ Nouhou Tolo at National-Football-Teams.com
  20. ^ "'Seattle Times': Sounders teammates Nouhou and Handwalla Bwana use family and faith to enrich their lives".
  21. ^ "Seattle Sounders are 2019 MLS Cup champions: Rave Green win second MLS title". Major League Soccer. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  22. ^ AfricaNews (6 February 2022). "Cameroon beats Burkina Faso to end AFCON 2021 in third place". Africanews. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Lodeiro, Dinenno headline 2022 SCCL Best XI". CONCACAF. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.

External links

Seattle Sounders FC – current squad
Cameroon squads
Categories