Sakina Karchaoui (born 26 January 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Première Ligue club Paris Saint-Germain, which she captains, and the France national team.
Born in Salon-de-Provence, in the Provence region of France, Karchaoui was raised in the nearby town of Miramas by her Moroccan parents.[2] She began playing football in her neighborhood with boys.[2] After two years at local club, US Miramas, she joined Montpellier.[2]
Karchaoui made her professional debut for Montpellier on 18 November 2012 in a 6–0 league win over Vendenheim.[3] During the 2013–14 Division 1 Féminine season, she made six appearances for the club, tallying a total of 475 minutes on the pitch.[3] Montpellier finished in fourth place with a 15–6–1 record.[3] The following season, she made 12 appearances with 9 starts. The club finished the 2014–15 season in fourth place with a 13–4–5 record.[3]
During the 2015–16 season, Karchaoui started in 19 of the 20 matches in which she appeared. On 1 November 2015, she scored her first goal in a 4–0 win against Rodez.[4] Montpellier finished in third place during the regular season with a 15–3–5 record.[3]
On 24 June 2020, fourteen-time defending league champions Lyon announced the signing of Karchaoui for the 2020–21 season.[5]
On 10 July 2021, Karchaoui joined reigning league champions Paris Saint-Germain on a three-year deal.[6] On 2 May 2024, she extended her contract with the club until June 2028.[7] In September 2025, she was named as the club captain.[8]
Karchaoui earned her first cap with the France national team in April 2016.[9][10][11] She was later selected for the 2016 Rio Olympics.[2] At the tournament, she started in the team's group-stage match against New Zealand resulting in a 3–0 win, and the quarter-final match against Canada where the team was eliminated in a 1–0 loss.[2][3]
In March 2017, she helped France defeat the United States 3–0 to win the 2017 SheBelieves Cup for the first time.[12]
Karchaoui was called up to the France squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017.[13]
Karchaoui was called up to the France squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[14]
On 30 May 2022, Karchaoui was called up to the France squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.[15]
Karchaoui was called up to the France squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[16]
On 23 February 2024, she scored her first international goal in a 2–1 win against Germany.[17]
In July 2024, Karchaoui was named in France's squad for the 2024 Olympics.[18]
Karchaoui admired Robin van Persie, Hatem Ben Arfa and Samir Nasri when she was young.[19][20]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Montpellier | 2012–13 | Première Ligue | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | Première Ligue | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Première Ligue | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Première Ligue | 20 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 26 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Première Ligue | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Première Ligue | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 6[a] | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Première Ligue | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Première Ligue | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 19 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 116 | 6 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 144 | 8 | ||
| Lyon | 2019–20 | Première Ligue | — | 0 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Première Ligue | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[a] | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2021–22 | Première Ligue | 19 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 9[a] | 1 | — | 33 | 4 | ||
| 2022–23 | Première Ligue | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 10[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Première Ligue | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 12[a] | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | Première Ligue | 15 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 2[d] | 1 | 23 | 5 | ||
| 2025–26 | Première Ligue | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| Total | 70 | 10 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 124 | 13 | ||
| Career total | 204 | 16 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 295 | 21 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2016 | 7 | 0 |
| 2017 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 12 | 2 | |
| Total | 93 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 February 2024 | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu, France |  Germany |
2–0 | 2–1 | 2024 UEFA Women's Nations League Finals |
| 2 | 12 July 2024 | Stade Gaston Gérard, Dijon, France |  Sweden |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2025 UEFA Women's Euro qualification |
| 3 | 20 June 2025 | Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes, France |  Belgium |
3–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 13 July 2025 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Netherlands |
5–2 | 5–2 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 |
Montpellier
Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain
France U20
France
Individual
France squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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