Meschak Elia Lina (born 6 August 1997) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Alanyaspor and the DR Congo national team. He received the best player award after him and his team's win in the 2016 African Nations Championship.
Club career In July 2019 it was announced that Elia would sign for Belgian First Division A club Anderlecht. He, however, disappeared and allegedly falsified his year of birth, which resulted in a 12-month ban by the Congolese Association Football Federation. In February 2020, FIFA "provisionally cleared" Elia to play again and he signed for Swiss Super League side BSC Young Boys.
On 3 February 2025, Elia joined Nantes in France on loan with an option to buy.
On 12 September 2025, he transferred to Turkey, joining Alanyaspor in the Süper Lig on a three-year deal. He thus departs Young Boys after making exactly 200 appearances for the club, scoring 43 goals and supplying 39 assists.
International career On 19 May 2026, Elia was included in the 26-man DR Congo national team squad selected by head coach Sébastien Desabre for the 2026 FIFA World Cup..
Personal life In December 2024 one of Elia's two sons died unexpectedly.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTP Mazembe2015–16Linafoot3010402016–17111101212017–18103101132018–1910400104Total93213483013029Young Boys2019–20Swiss Super League1220000—1222020–2125610111—3772021–2230810122—43102022–233175352—41122023–2432920102—44112024–251502160—231Total14532114467—20043Nantes (loan)2024–25Ligue 181———81Alanyaspor2025–26Süper Lig22330——253Career total2685714477153036376
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsDR Congo20169520172020184120197020225120239020241642025131202660Total7112
Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elia goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Meschak EliaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 17 January 2016 Stade Huye, Butare, Rwanda 3–0 3–0 2016 African Nations Championship2 21 January 2016 Stade Huye, Butare, Rwanda 2–0 3–0 2016 African Nations Championship3 7 February 2016 Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda 1–0 3–0 2016 African Nations Championship4 2–05 26 March 2016 Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo 2–0 2–1 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification6 9 September 2018 Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia, Liberia 1–1 1–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 7 27 September 2022 Stade Père Jégo, Casablanca, Morocco 3–0 3–0 Friendly 8 28 January 2024 Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro, Ivory Coast 1–0 1–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations 9 9 June 2024 Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo 1–0 1–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification 10 15 October 2024 Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 1–0 2–0 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 11 2–0 12 16 November 2025 Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat, Morocco 1–1 1–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours TP Mazembe Linafoot: 2015–16, 2016-17 CAF Confederation Cup: 2016, 2017 CAF Super Cup: 2016
Young Boys Swiss Super League: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2023–24 Swiss Cup: 2019–20, 2022–23
DR Congo African Nations Championship: 2016
References
External links