Yussuf Poulsen

Early career

Poulsen began playing football at Skjold. At first he was a defensive player and in Kenneth Zohore he had a teammate, with whom he was to play later in the Danish youth national teams. After Zohoré joined Copenhagen, Poulsen was moved to a position as a striker.

Lyngby

At the age of 14 he joined the youth ranks of Lyngby. He played his first match as a senior on 4 December 2011, when he came on the pitch against Horsens after 84 minutes, as a substitute for Mathias Tauber. Poulsen did not immediately establish himself in the starting eleven, and he was at the end of the season only on five appearances. His club, Lyngby were also relegated from Superligaen. 5 August 2012 he scored his first goal at senior level, as well as for his club, when he in the second match in the 1. Division (second Danish league) scored the 1-0 winning goal against AB. He was a regular player in the starting 11, and played 32 matches, scoring eleven goals.

RB Leipzig

His achievements attracted the interest of foreign and domestic clubs, and on 3 July 2013, he signed a contract with the newly promoted 3. Liga German side RB Leipzig. He made his club debut on 19 July 2013 in a 1–0 win at Hallescher FC, and scored his first goals in a 2–0 home win over Rot-Weiss Essen on 24 August, and netted two more in the final game on 10 May 2014 to win 3–1 against Stuttgarter Kickers. He finished the 2013–14 season with 10 goals in 36 appearances as his team were promoted as…

Poulsen was eligible to play for Tanzania but did not receive any offers from the Tanzanian federation; as a result, he chose to represent his native Denmark. He made his debut for the Danish national team on 30 January 2013 against Mexico. On 13 June 2015, he scored his first goal for his country, against Serbia in a 2–0 win. Poulsen was selected in Denmark's squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, however he rejected the call-up in order to cement his place at Leipzig. In May 2018, he was named in Denmark's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 16 June, he scored the lone goal in their opening game against Peru, and was named man of the match. Earlier in the game he conceded a penalty with a foul on Christian Cueva, which the Peruvian missed. Poulsen was part of the Danish squad that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2020 in the summer of 2021. He scored his first goal in the European Championship in a 2–1 defeat to Belgium on 17 June, adding another four days later in a 4–1 win over Russia. He was also part of the Danish squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Club

As of match played 29 August 2026

International

As of match played 18 November 2024

As of match played 18 November 2024. Denmark score listed first, score column indicates score after each Poulsen goal

Poulsen was born to a Tanzanian father and a Danish mother. His father worked on a container ship, oscillating between Tanga and Denmark before he settled in Copenhagen. He died of cancer when Poulsen was six years old.