Owen Wijndal

Owen Wijndal (born 28 November 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Ajax.

Club career AZ Born in Zaandam, Wijndal joined the AZ youth academy at the age of 10, having formerly played for local sides ZVV Zaandijk and HFC Haarlem. He was promoted to the second team for the 2016–17 season playing in the third-tier Tweede Divisie. On 4 February 2017, Wijndal made his first-team debut for AZ, starting in a 4–2 home loss to PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie due to injuries to regular starter Ridgeciano Haps and backup Thomas Ouwejan. The end of the 2016–17 season saw AZ end on sixth place and thereby qualifying for domestic play-offs for participation in the third qualifying round of the Europa League the following season. They eventually missed out on European football, losing to FC Utrecht on penalties after two legs. That season, Wijndal also made 24 league appearances for the reserves, helping them win the third division title and thereby reach promotion to the second tier.

During the 2017–18 season, Wijndal featured in the first-team side more regularly, making seven league appearances, while also playing 16 times for the reserves in the Eerste Divisie. After featuring mainly for Jong AZ in 2018–19, he established himself as the regular starting left-back for the first team during the 2019–20 season. On 25 July 2019, Wijndal also made his debut in the Europa League against BK Häcken. He scored his first professional goal on 7 March 2020 in a 4–0 league win over ADO Den Haag.

Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Wijndal was appointed captain of AZ following the departure of Teun Koopmeiners. He made 143 appearances for AZ's first team, scoring 4 goals. He made his debut on 30 July, starting in the Johan Cruyff Shield against PSV. Wijndal provided two assists before being substituted in the 62nd minute as Ajax lost 5–3. He began the 2022–23 season as the starting left-back but faced competition for his place and inconsistent form, resulting in him making 28 appearances across all competitions during a difficult season for the club. He featured regularly for Antwerp, making 26 league appearances and scoring his only goal for the club against Charleroi on 6 April 2024. He also gained valuable experience playing in all six of Antwerp's UEFA Champions League group stage matches. He made appearances predominantly as a substitute in the Eredivisie and UEFA Europa League during the first half of the season. On 7 december 2025, Wijndal scored his first Ajax goal against Fortuna Sittard.

International career Born in the Netherlands to a Surinamese mother and Dutch father, Wijndal is eligible for both Suriname and Netherlands. He has represented the Netherlands at every age group from under-15 to under-21 level. Between 2015 and 2016, he made 12 appearances for the Netherlands under-17 team, and participated in the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Azerbaijan where he made five appearances. The Dutch team made the semi-finals, where they stranded against Portugal.

Wijndal was a regular starter for the Netherlands under-19 team between 2016 and 2018, making 16 appearances for the team. In the same period, he also appeared for the Netherlands under-20 team. On 31 May 2019, Wijndal made his debut for the Netherlands under-21 team in a friendly match against Mexico in Doetinchem that ended in a 5–1 win for the Dutch.

Wijndal was called up to the senior Netherlands squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against Poland and Italy in September 2020.

On 7 October 2020, he made his first appearance for the Netherlands in the friendly match against Mexico which Mexico won 1–0.

Career statistics

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International

Honours Individual Eredivisie Player of the Month: May 2021 Eredivisie Talent of the Month: August 2019, November 2019, November 2020, December 2020