Nathanaël Mbuku Wa Mbuku (born 16 March 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truiden on loan from German 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 Germany's 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.
Return to FC Augsburg and loan to Montpellier In July 2025, FC Augsburg bought him back and Mbuku moved to Montpellier in France on loan with an option to buy.
Loan to Sint-Truiden On 3 September 2026, Mbuku moved on a new loan to Sint-Truiden in Belgium, 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 19 May 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
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsReims B2018–19CFA 280——802019–20CFA 210——102022–23CFA 210——10Total100——100Reims2019–20Ligue 1110002Appearances in the Coupe de la Ligue01302020–21Ligue 132410—3342021–22Ligue 131220—3322022–23Ligue 16000—60Total80630—836FC Augsburg2022–23Bundesliga2000—202023–24Bundesliga1000—10Total3000—30FC Augsburg II2022–23Regionalliga Bayern10——102023–24Regionalliga Bayern32——32Total42——42Saint-Étienne (loan)2023–24Ligue 2183003One appearance and one goal in the Ligue 2 promotion play-offs, two appearances in the Ligue 1 relegation/promotion play-offs1214Dinamo Zagreb2024–25Croatian Football League162202Appearances in UEFA Champions League0202Montpellier (loan)2025–26Ligue 230420—324Sint-Truiden (loan)2026–27Belgian Pro League3000—30Career total16417707117818
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsDR Congo20243020251222026111Total263
Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mbuku goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Nathanaël MbukuNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 5 September 2025 Juba Stadium, Juba, South Sudan 3–0 4–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification2 30 December 2025 Al Medina Stadium, Rabat, Morocco 1–0 3–0 2025 Africa Cup of Nations3 5 October 2026 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 1–0 1–1 Friendly
Honours France U17 FIFA U-17 World Cup bronze: 2019
Individual FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Boot: 2019
References
External links
Stade de Reims Profile