Loïs Openda

Ikoma-Loïs Openda (born 16 February 2000) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Belgium national team.

Early career
Openda played as a youth for Patro Othee FC and RFC Liège before joining the youth academy of Standard Liège.

Club Brugge
In 2015, he moved to the academy of Club Brugge, where he made his senior debut on 10 August 2018 in the Belgian Pro League against Kortrijk. Openda replaced Jelle Vossen after 80 minutes.

Loan to Vitesse
On 21 July 2020, Openda joined Dutch Eredivisie club Vitesse on a season-long loan deal. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 October, in a 3–0 win over Heracles Almelo. Vitesse reached the final of the KNVB Cup, but lost 2–1 to Ajax. Openda scored the only goal for the Arnhem-based team. In June 2021, Openda rejoined Vitesse on loan for another season.

Lens
On 6 July 2022, Lens announced the signing of Openda on a five-year deal from Club Brugge. The striker scored his first goal against Inter Milan in a friendly game on 22 July. On 28 October, he scored his first hat-trick for Lens in a 3–0 win over Toulouse. After eight matches without scoring, on 12 March 2023, he scored the fastest hat-trick in Ligue 1 within four minutes and 30 seconds in a 4–0 away win over Clermont, beating the previous record of Matt Moussilou.

RB Leipzig
On 14 July 2023, Openda signed for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig on a five-year contract. The transfer fee reported was in the region of €43 to €46 million, with potential bonuses adding up to €6 million. On 19 August, he scored his first goal on his Bundesliga debut in a 3–2 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen. On 4 October, he netted his first Champions League goal in a 1–3 home defeat against Manchester City. On 28 November, Openda scored twice at the City of Manchester Stadium against Manchester City, although his team lost 3–2. He finished his debut Bundesliga season at the club as their top scorer with 24 goals, only behind Harry Kane and Serhou Guirassy in the league.

International career
On 18 May 2022, Openda was named to the squad for the four 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches on 3, 8, 10 and 13 June 2022 against Netherlands, Poland (twice) and Wales respectively. He played again against Wales in the UEFA Nations League on 13 September 2022.

On 10 November 2022, he was named in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Personal life
Openda was born in Belgium. He is of Moroccan and Congolese descent. Openda is a devout Christian.

International
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first.

Honours
Club Brugge
 * Belgian Pro League: 2019–20
 * Belgian Super Cup: 2018

RB Leipzig
 * DFL-Supercup: 2023

Individual
 * Eredivisie Player of the Month: May 2022
 * Eredivisie Team of the Month: January 2022, May 2022
 * UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: March 2023, April 2023
 * UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2022–23