Yussuf Poulsen


Yussuf Yurary Poulsen is a Danish professional footballer who plays for German club RB Leipzig as a striker or winger. He also sometimes used Yurary as his shirt name.
After starting his professional career with Lyngby, he transferred to RB Leipzig in 2013, helping them to consecutive promotions from the 3. Liga to the Bundesliga. He holds the RB Leipzig record for most appearances with over 240, and has scored over 60 goals for the club.
Poulsen made his international debut for Denmark in 2014 and has earned over 40 caps. He was part of their squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Poulsen began playing football at BK Skjold. At first he was a defensive player and in Kenneth Zohore he had a teammate, with whom he was to play later in the Danish youth national teams. After Zohoré joined FC Copenhagen, Poulsen was moved to a position as a striker.

Lyngby BK

At the age of 14 he joined the youth ranks of Lyngby BK. He played his first match as a senior on 4 December 2011, when he came on the pitch against AC Horsens after 84 minutes, as a substitute for Mathias Tauber. Poulsen did not immediately establish himself in the starting eleven, and he was at the end of the season only on five appearances. His club, Lyngby were also relegated from Superligaen. 5 August 2012 he scored his first goal at senior level, as well as for his club, when he in the second match in the 1. Division scored the 1-0 winning goal against AB Gladsaxe. He was a regular player in the starting 11, and played 32 matches, scoring eleven goals.

RB Leipzig

His achievements attracted the interest of foreign and domestic clubs, and on 3 July 2013, he signed a contract with the newly promoted 3. Liga German side RB Leipzig. He finished the 2013–14 season with 10 goals in 27 appearances. Poulsen earned promotion with Leipzig to the 2. Bundesliga in 2014 and the German top-flight Bundesliga in 2016. He had scored 12 goals in 32 appearances during the 2014–15 season and seven goals in 32 appearances during the 2015–16 season. In the sixth match of the 2016–17 season, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 2–1 victory at home against FC Augsburg. He finished the 2016–17 season with five goals in 30 appearances. He finished the 2017–18 season five goals in 41 appearances.
On 30 March 2019, during a 5–0 win over Hertha BSC, he became the first-ever Leipzig player to score a hat-trick in the Bundesliga and in the process helped the club record its 50th ever win in the competition. His treble also took him to 15 league goals for the campaign which meant he became only the third Danish player, after Ebbe Sand and Allan Simonsen to score more than 14 Bundesliga goals in a single season.

International career

Poulsen made his debut for the Danish national team on 11 October 2014 against Albania. On 13 June 2015, he scored his first goal against Serbia in Denmark's 2–0 win. Poulsen was selected in Denmark's squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, however he rejected the call-up in order to cement his place at Leipzig.
In May 2018 he was named in Denmark's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 16 June, he scored the lone goal in Denmark's opening game against Peru, and was named man of the match. Earlier in the game he conceded a penalty with a foul on Christian Cueva, which the Peruvian missed.

Personal life

Yussuf Yurary Poulsen is the son of a Tanzanian father and a Danish mother. His father worked on a container ship, oscillating between Tanga and Denmark before he settled in Copenhagen. He died of cancer when Yussuf was only six years old. Yussuf visited Tanzania several times as a child. He was eligible to play for Tanzania but did not receive any offers from the Tanzanian federation; as a result, he chose to represent his native Denmark.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
113 June 2015Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark51–02–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
217 November 2015Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark111–22–2UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
38 October 2016National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland162–32–32018 FIFA World Cup qualification
49 June 2018Brøndby Stadium, Brøndby, Denmark281–02–0Friendly
516 June 2018Mordovia Arena, Saransk, Russia291–01–02018 FIFA World Cup
610 June 2019Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark394–15–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
712 October 2019Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark411–01–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification