Mehdi Khalil

2009–2012: Sierra Leone and Sweden

Khalil began his senior career in Sierra Leone in 2009 at Johansen. In 2010, he participated with Kallon U19 at the Viareggio Cup – an annual youth tournament held in Italy – where he played two of the three games. Thanks to Johansen's Scandinavian connections, in March 2011 Khalil joined Swedish Division 3 side Köping FF on a three-month loan. Talking about his first training session at the club, Khalil said that "[it] was fun [...] the guys seem lovely, and many of them are young, just like me". He played seven games for the club. Between April and June 2011, Khalil trained with Allsvenskan clubs AIK and Trelleborg. On 20 July 2011, Khalil moved to Djurgården, AIK's rivals, on a four-month loan. He had been noticed by the club's manager Magnus Pehrsson the previous year at a friendly tournament in Ghana; Khalil was named best goalkeeper of the tournament. On 1 August 2011, he made his debut for the club's under-21 team in the U21 Allsvenskan against Brage, helping his side win 5–1. On 25 October 2011, Djurgården announced that Khalil's contract would not be renewed. Following his experience in Sweden, Khalil moved back to Sierra Leone, playing for Kallon during the 2011–12 season.

2013–2017: Safa

Through his links with Roda Antar, a Sierra Leonean-born Lebanese footballer, Khalil trained with the Lebanon national team in 2012, which caught the attention of various Lebanese clubs. Khalil moved to Safa in the Lebanese…

Khalil was called up for Sierra Leone at the under-17 and under-20 levels, without featuring in any match. Eligible to represent Lebanon through his parents' nationality, Khalil received a call from former Lebanese international player Roda Antar in 2012, who informed him that national team coach Theo Bücker had called him for a training session. Khalil made his debut for Lebanon in a 0–0 draw against Bahrain on 17 March 2013. He was part of the squad that played in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers between 2015 and 2016; initially Abbas Hassan's reserve for the first three matches, Khalil became Lebanon's first-choice goalkeeper in the final five games of the second round of qualification. Lebanon finished in second place in their group and, despite being eliminated from the World Cup, qualified them for to the final round of qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Drawn with North Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, Khalil helped Lebanon finish top of the group unbeaten, conceding only four goals in six games. Lebanon reached the Asian Cup finals for the first time through qualification. Khalil was included on the 2019 AFC Asian Cup squad as Lebanon's main goalkeeper. In the first two group stage matches, Lebanon lost 2–0 to both Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Needing a win by four goals or more, Lebanon won 4–1 against North Korea for the first time in their history. However, the three points were not enough to qualify Lebanon for the knockout stage. Khalil played all 90 minutes…

Known as "the Mountain" (Arabic: الجبل) because of his height, Khalil is a goalkeeper with good reflexes and a large physical presence. At 1.96 m (6.4 ft) tall, Khalil was the fifth tallest goalkeeper at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. He is a fine shot stopper, and has a tendency to punch balls away from crosses. In 2011 his agent Patrick Mörck described him as a "resilient, witty, and responsive goalkeeper", drawing similarities to Swedish former goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson. The same year Magnus Pehrsson, his coach at Djurgården, reaffirmed the similarities with Isaksson, noting "his size and his actions".

Born in Bouaké, Ivory Coast to Lebanese parents, Khalil moved to Freetown, Sierra Leone with his family at a young age. He started playing six-a-side football, a popular form of football in Sierra Leone, at age 12 at Young Sportsmen Club (YSC) as a defender. Noticing his physical attributes, namely his height, Khalil's coach advised him to switch position to goalkeeper. At age 15–16, he was noticed by Isha Johansen – owner of football club Johansen alongside her Norwegian husband Arne Birger Johansen – in a match between YSC and Johansen. His performance in the game prompted Isha to sign Khalil to Johansen's under-17 team.