Ngal'ayel Mukau

Ngal'ayel Mukau (born 3 November 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lille. Born in Belgium, he plays for the DR Congo national team.

Club career Mechelen Mukau is a youth product of Mechelen and Zulte Waregem. On 20 July 2022, he signed his first professional contract with Mechelen for 2+1 seasons. He made his senior and professional debut with Mechelen in a 2–0 Belgian First Division A loss to Zulte Waregem on 8 January 2023.

Lille On 11 July 2024, Mukau signed for French Ligue 1 club Lille, on a four-year contract. The financial details of the transfer include an initial and base fee of €4 million and a maximum of €1 million add-ons depending on sporting conditions. On 27 November, he scored his first professional goals with a brace in a 2–1 win at Bologna in the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase.

International career Born in Belgium, Mukau is of DR Congolese descent. Mukau holds both Congolese and French nationalities from his parents. He is a former youth international for Belgium, having played for the Belgium U18s. However, he was called up to a training camp for the DR Congo U21s in September 2023, and debuted with them in a pair of friendlies against the Tunisia U20s in October 2023.

On 16 November 2024, he made his debut for the DR Congo national team, coming on as a substitute in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification against Guinea.

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.

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