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.
 Nouhou with Seattle Sounders FC in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nouhou Tolo[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 23 June 1997[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 | 31 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 02:02, 11 April 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 June 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
editNouhou 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
editIn 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
editClub
edit- As of match played 9 October 2022
| 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 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
International
edit- As of match played 8 June 2024[19]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 1 | |
Personal life
editNouhou is Muslim.[20]
Honours
editSeattle Sounders FC
Cameroon
- Africa Cup of Nations bronze: 2021[22]
Individual
- MLS All-Star: 2021
- CONCACAF Champions League Best XI: 2022[23]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Formerly known as Seattle Sounders FC 2 until the 2019 season.
- ^ a b c "Sounders FC signs defender Nouhou Tolo". SoundersFC.com. Sounders FC Communications. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Africa Cup of Nations (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Sounders sign Cameroonian defender Nouhou Tolo". Seattletimes.com. Seattle Times. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ "Seattle Sounders FC 2 sign Cameroonian defender Nouhou Tolo". SoundersFC.com. Sounders FC Communications. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ Ari Liljenwall (15 April 2017). "Sounders FC 2 earn road win at LA Galaxy II behind Nouhou goal". SoundersFC.com. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Sounders FC falls short with 3-0 road loss at Columbus". SoundersFC.com. Sounders FC Communications. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Graeme Jackson (22 February 2017). "Junior Lions confirm squad for U-20 AFCON". AfricanFootball.com. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
- ^ Austin Ditlhobolo (27 February 2017). "Singh inspires South Africa to victory in U20 AFCON clash". AfricanFootball.com. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Matches - Zambia-Cameroon". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
- ^ "World Cup: Philly's Olivier Mbaizo, Seattle's Nouhou make Cameroon roster". mlssoccer.com. MLS Soccer.
- ^ "2022 FIFA World Cup, Group Stage - Matches - Cameroon-Brazil". ESPN.com. ESPN.
- ^ a b c d Nouhou Tolo at USL Championship
- ^ a b c d e f Nouhou Tolo at Major League Soccer
- ^ Nouhou Tolo at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "'Seattle Times': Sounders teammates Nouhou and Handwalla Bwana use family and faith to enrich their lives".
- ^ "Seattle Sounders are 2019 MLS Cup champions: Rave Green win second MLS title". Major League Soccer. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ AfricaNews (6 February 2022). "Cameroon beats Burkina Faso to end AFCON 2021 in third place". Africanews. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Lodeiro, Dinenno headline 2022 SCCL Best XI". CONCACAF. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.