Born and raised in France, Toko Ekambi played forCameroon internationally, making his senior debut in 2015. He represented the nation at theAfrica Cup of Nations in2017,2019,2021 and2023, winning the 2017 tournament. He also played at the2022 FIFA World Cup.
Born inParis, Toko Ekambi began his career atParis FC in the third-tierChampionnat National. In June 2014, having been third-top scorer with 13 goals, he transferred toSochaux.[4] He made hisLigue 2 debut on the opening day of the2014–15 season againstOrléans, as a 57th-minute substitute forThomas Guerbert in a 1–0 home loss.[5] He ended his first season as joint-fourth top scorer with 14 goals.[6]
In June 2016, Toko Ekambi joinedAngers for €1 million, on a four-year deal.[7] He scored seven times in his firstLigue 1 season, including two in a 3–0 home win overBastia on 26 February.[8]
In August 2017,Brighton & Hove Albion, newly promoted to thePremier League, reportedly made a bid for him, offering €8 million plus €1 million in possible bonuses to Angers.[9] He began that season in good form, scoring nine goals in 18 Ligue 1 appearances in the first half of the season, attracting interest from England for his services in the January transfer window.[10]
In January 2018 Brighton were again reported to have made a bid for him, which was rejected by Angers.[11][12] On 24 February, Toko Ekambi scored two-second-half goals, including the winner in the 89th minute, to help Angers move out of the relegation zone in a 2–1 away win over fellow strugglersLille.[13] He finished the2017–18 Ligue 1 season with 17 goals, ninth in the league's top scorers.[14] He won thePrix Marc-Vivien Foé for best African in the league. He was the first Cameroonian to win the award named afterMarc-Vivien Foé, who died playing for the country in 2003.[15]
On 25 April 2017, late substitute Toko Ekambi scored in a 2–0 home win overGuingamp in theCoupe de France semi-final.[16] In Angers' first final since 1957 on 27 May, he played the entirety of a 1–0 loss toParis Saint-Germain (PSG).[17]
In June 2018, Toko Ekambi signed withVillarreal in Spain'sLa Liga, for an estimated €20 million. He was signed to replaceCédric Bakambu, who had left for theChinese Super League in January.[18] He scored ten goals in his first league season, including two in a 3–1 home win overRayo Vallecano on 17 March.[19]
With five goals each, Toko Ekambi andGetafe'sÁngel were top scorers of the2018–19 Copa del Rey.[20] This included four in an 8–0 (11–3 aggregate) home win overAlmería in the last 32 second leg,[21] followed by a goal in the next stage againstEspanyol, who eliminated his team.[22]
On 20 January 2020, Toko Ekambi went back to Ligue 1, on loan toLyon for the remainder of the season.[24] On 2 June, he moved on a permanenttransfer with a four-year contract, for a fee of €11.5 million.[25] He played in the2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final on 31 July, the last game in the competition's history. On as an 80th-minute substitute forMemphis Depay, he scored in the penalty shootout after a goalless draw, but his team lost to PSG.[26]
With 14 goals in 2020–21, Toko Ekambi was once again joint ninth top scorer in Ligue 1.[27] The following season, he finished joint tenth with 12 goals.[28]
On 26 January 2023, fellow Ligue 1 clubRennes announced the signing of Toko Ekambi on loan from Lyon for the remainder of the season. The fee was €1.5 million, with a further €1 million depending on performances.[29] He scored his first goal for the club on 19 March to open a 2–0 win at PSG, ending a 35-game unbeaten home run for the hosts dating back nearly two years.[30]
Toko Ekambi made his debut forCameroon on 6 June 2015 in a 3–2 friendly win overBurkina Faso inColombes, France, as a 66th-minute substitute forJustin Mengolo.[33] He scored his first goal on 3 September the following year in a 2–0 home win over theGambia in2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.[34] ManagerHugo Broos called him up for the final tournament in Gabon, which the team won.[35]
At the2021 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil at the start of the following year, Toko Ekambi scored twice in a 4–1 group win overEthiopia,[39] and the opening goal of a 2–1 win againstComoros in the last 16.[40] On 29 January, he scored both goals against the Gambia in the quarter-finals.[41]
On 29 March 2022, Toko Ekambi scored a goal in the fourth minute of time added on at the end of extra time againstAlgeria to send Cameroon to the2022 FIFA World Cup.[42] At the finals in Qatar, he started the first two games and was a substitute in the 1–0 win overBrazil, as the team exited in the group stage.[43][44][45]
At the2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, Toko Ekambi was dropped by managerRigobert Song in the second group game againstSenegal; fellow strikerVincent Aboubakar was injured and the team lost 3–1.[46] He returned and scored the opening goal of a 3–2 win against the Gambia that put Cameroon into the last 16 at their opponents' expense.[47] On February 2, 2024, he announced his retirement from international duty after the tournament.[48][49]
^"Sans doute la fin d'un cycle" [Without doubt the end of an era].Paris Normandie (in French). 21 May 2015.Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved5 November 2021.
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