.jpg) Yazbek withNashville SC in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick Yazbek[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-04-05)5 April 2002 (age 23) | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool,New South Wales, Australia[1] | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nashville SC | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2009 | Austral | ||
| 2010–2011 | Football NSW SAP | ||
| 2012 | Club Marconi | ||
| 2013–2015 | Sydney United | ||
| 2016 | Western Sydney Wanderers | ||
| 2017–2020 | Sydney FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Sydney FC NPL | 23 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | Sydney FC | 28 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Viking | 39 | (2) |
| 2024– | Nashville SC | 35 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2023 | Australia U23 | 10 | (0) |
| 2024– | Australia | 5 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 September 2025 | |||
Patrick Yazbek (born 5 April 2002) is an Australian professionalsoccer player who plays as adefensive midfielder forMajor League Soccer clubNashville SC and theAustralia national team.
Having begun playing soccer aged three,[3] Yazbek joined Austral Soccer Club's under-5s.[4] In 2010, he movedFootball NSW's "Skill Acquisition Program".[4] Yazbek then played for other youth teams, namelyClub Marconi,Sydney United,Western Sydney Wanderers andSydney FC.[3][5]
After making the bench a few times during the2020–21 A-League season, Yazbek signed a two-year scholarship contract withSydney FC in July 2021.[6]
He made his senior debut in the2021 FFA Cup round of 32, in a 4–2 victory overSydney Olympic.[7] Yazbek'sA-League debut came on 12 December 2021, as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat toCentral Coast Mariners.[8] On 19 December, he made his starting debut for Sydney FC in a 2–1 win overWellington Phoenix.[9]
On 2 February 2023, NorwegianEliteserien clubViking announced the signing of Yazbek.[10] On 15 April 2023, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win againstLillestrøm.[11]
On 22 July 2024, Yazbek joinedMajor League Soccer clubNashville SC.[12][13] He made his league debut on 24 August againstAustin FC but was removed from the match in the first half. Yazbek was suspended for the following two matches for a violation of the league's anti-discrimination policy.[14] According toOutsports, the suspension was a result of Yazbek's use of a homophobic slur during the match after a foul was called against him.[15]
Yazbek was selected for theAustralia national under-23 team ahead of theirqualifiers for the2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup.[16] He played in both of Australia's games againstIndonesia in October 2021, helping his side qualify for the final tournament.[1] In the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, Yazbek played six games;[1] Australia finished in fourth place, losing the third place match againstJapan.[17]
Yazbek was named in theAustralia squad for the2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches againstLebanon,[18] the country in which his parents were born in and who he was also eligible to represent.[19] Lebanon managerMiodrag Radulović criticised Yazbek for his decision to represent Australia, saying he "would be better to be one of the leaders in our team than sitting on the bench [for Australia]."[20][21] Yazbek did not feature in the first match atWestern Sydney Stadium on 21 March, instead making his debut on 26 March at theCanberra Stadium, managing one assist forJohn Iredale in a 5–0 victory.[22][23]
Ahead of Australia's2026 World Cup qualification matches againstChina andJapan, Socceroos coachTony Popovic called up Yazbeck as an injury replacement forMassimo Luongo andConnor Metcalfe.[24]
In 2021, Yazbek described himself as a "hardworkingbox-to-box midfielder".[25]
Yazbek is ofLebanese descent and grew up as a Sydney FC supporter.[26][3] He studied at Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School inCarnes Hill and atClancy Catholic College inWest Hoxton.[4][3] As of 2021, he was aConstruction Management student at theUniversity of New South Wales.[7]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sydney FC Youth | 2020 | NPL NSW | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | NPL NSW | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| 2022 | NPL NSW | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 23 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||||
| Sydney FC | 2020–21 | A-League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | A-League | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | A-League | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| Viking | 2023 | Eliteserien | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | Eliteserien | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Total | 40 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 45 | 2 | ||||
| Nashville SC | 2024 | MLS | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | MLS | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 107 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 4 | ||
Patrick Yazbek, a UNSW Construction Management student, made his first senior appearance last week in the FFA Cup game against Sydney Olympic
As a young Lebanese family in western Sydney, life for the Yazbeks was about work.
