Nathanaël Mbuku

Nathanaël Mbuku Wa Mbuku (born 16 March 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Augsburg. Born in France, he plays for the DR Congo national team.

Club career

Reims On 23 November 2018, Mbuku signed his first professional contract with Stade de Reims for three years. He made his professional debut with Reims in a 2–0 Ligue 1 win over Olympique de Marseille on 10 August 2019.

He scored his first goal in Ligue 1 in a 4–0 win against Montpellier on 25 October 2020, from an "acrobatic kick". His teammate Boulaye Dia also scored from a penalty after Mbuku was fouled. The win was Reims' first in the league in the 2020–21 season.

FC Augsburg On 30 January 2023, Mbuku signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with FC Augsburg in German Bundesliga.

In January 2024, he joined Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne on loan for the remainder of the season.

Dinamo Zagreb On 3 September 2024, Mbuku signed a multi-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. Augsburg reserved an option to buy him back at the end of the 2024–25 season.

Montpellier In July 2025, Augsburg bought him back and Mbuku moved to Montpellier in France on loan with an option to buy.

International career With the France U-17 national team, Mbuku took part in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship held in Ireland. He featured in five matches during the tournament. He made an impact by scoring a goal against the Netherlands in the group stage, and later provided an assist in the semi-final against Italy, which ended in a 1–2 defeat.

A few months later, he participated in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil. During the tournament, he again played five matches. He stood out by scoring a hat-trick in the Round of 16 against Australia. In the quarter-final against Spain, he contributed with a goal and an assist. He scored once more in the semi-final against the host nation, Brazil. France eventually won the bronze medal by defeating the Netherlands in the third-place playoff on 17 November 2019. Individually, Mbuku was awarded the Adidas Silver Boot as the tournament’s second-highest goalscorer.

On 2 July 2021, he was named in the 21-man squad selected by Sylvain Ripoll to represent France at the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in Japan in summer 2021. He made his debut for the France Olympic team on 16 July, coming on as a substitute for Arnaud Nordin in the 69th minute of a friendly match against South Korea. Mbuku scored the winning goal late in the game, securing a 2–1 victory.

In August 2024, he changed his sporting nationality and received his first call-up to the DR Congo national team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification against Guinea on 6 September and Ethiopia on 9 September.

On May 19, 2026, he was included in the 26-man squad selected by head coach Sébastien Desabre to represent the DR Congo at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life Born in France, Mbuku holds French and Congolese nationalities.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mbuku goal. + List of international goals scored by Cédric Bakambu

Individual FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Boot: 2019