Yassine Meriah (; born 2 July 1993) is a Tunisian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Club career Mariah was formed in AS Ariana, the team that was active in the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2. In the 2013–14 season, he was transferred to ES Métlaoui when he was 20 years old. After spending two seasons with the team, he was prominently featured and invited to the Tunisian Olympic team. He attracted the attention of the officials of CS Sfaxien, one of the most important teams in the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 who sought to sign with him, starting from the 2014–15 season. From his first season with CS Sfaxien, Meriah was a key figure in the squad and played in many of the team's defensive positions.
Olympiacos On 28 July 2018, Meriah joined Olympiacos for an estimated transfer fee of €1,500,000, signing a four-year contract. On 2 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 home win against PAS Giannina.
On 31 January 2020, Meriah officially loaned in Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa, until the end of the 2019–20 season, with a €5 million buyout clause expected in the summer. Meriah started this year as de facto leader in Olympiakos defence, having a great presence in the Champions League qualifiers. Later, however, there were some games in which he made mistakes, so he was sidelined. On 13 September 2020, he signed a long season loan with another Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor.
Al Ain On 28 July 2021, Meriah joined Al Ain for a reported transfer fee of €2 million signing a two-year contract.
Espérance de Tunis On 4 August 2022, Meriah joined Espérance de Tunis as a free agent signing a two-year contract.
International career Meriah's success with his club led him to the Tunisia national team for the first time by coach Georges Leekens on 13 June 2015 against Morocco in 2016 African Nations Championship qualification.
He scored his first goal against DR Congo in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.
In May 2018 he was named in Tunisia's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In June 2019 he was named in Tunisia's final 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsES Métlaoui2013–14Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 113000——1302014–15Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 114010——150Total27010——280CS Sfaxien2014–15Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1922000—1122015–16Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 127000——2702016–17Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 12331080—3232017–18Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 122130——251Total8166080—956Olympiacos2018–19Super League Greece1814040—2612019–20Super League Greece5020110—180Total23160150—441Kasımpaşa (loan)2019–20Süper Lig15000——150Rizespor (loan)2020–21Süper Lig26100——261Al Ain2021–22UAE Pro League1011000—111Espérance de Tunis2022–23Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 123340120—3932023–24Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 120511182304282024–25Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1921031301632025–26Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1131406110242Total67111013947012316Club Africain2026–27Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 120—00—20Career total251202416277034425
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsTunisia20153020163020177120181312019171202040202114020224020231012024131202571202610Total956
Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Meriah goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Yassine MeriahNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 1 September 2017 Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia 1–0 2–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification2 13 October 2018 1–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification3 22 March 2019 4–0 4–0 4 17 November 2023 1–0 4–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification5 15 October 2024 Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast 1–1 1–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification6 7 December 2025 Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar 2–0 3–0 2025 FIFA Arab Cup
Honours Olympiacos Greek Football Cup: 2019–20
Al Ain UAE Pro League: 2021–22 UAE League Cup: 2021–22
Espérance de Tunis Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2023–24, 2024–25 Tunisian Super Cup: 2024, 2025 Tunisian Cup: 2024–25, 2025–26
Tunisia FIFA Arab Cup runner-up: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations fourth place: 2019
Individual Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2019
References
External links