Nahuel Molina

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Molina and the second or maternal family name is Lucero.

Nahuel Molina Lucero (born 6 April 1998) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team.

Nahuel Molina

Molina with Rosario Central in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Nahuel Molina Lucero[1]
Date of birth	(1998-04-06) 6 April 1998 (age 26)[2]
Place of birth	Embalse, Córdoba, Argentina
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s)	Right-back / Right wing-back
Team information
Current team	Atlético Madrid
Number	16
Youth career
	Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2020	Boca Juniors	8	(0)
2018	→ Defensa y Justicia (loan)	17	(1)
2019	→ Rosario Central (loan)	22	(1)
2020–2022	Udinese	64	(9)
2022–	Atlético Madrid	80	(6)
International career‡
2017	Argentina U20	6	(0)
2021–	Argentina	48	(1)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Argentina FIFA World Cup Winner 2022 Qatar Copa América Winner 2021 Brazil Winner 2024 United States CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions Winner 2022 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 February 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 November 2024

Club career

Molina trained in the Barça Juniors Luján sports project, a FC Barcelona project in Argentina,^[3] which even led him to travel to Barcelona to train with the lower sections of FC Barcelona. In 2012, the Juniors Luján project was integrated into the youth ranks of CA Boca Juniors, and Molina continued his training in this club.^[4]

On 18 February 2016, he made his first team debut for Boca Juniors in a league game against San Martín de San Juan, playing the full game.^[5][6] In January 2018, Molina was loaned out to Defensa y Justicia for the rest of the year.^[7]

On 15 September 2020, Molina joined Udinese Calcio on a free transfer until 2025.^[8] On 28 July 2022, he joined Atlético Madrid on a five-year contract,^[9] for a reported fee of €10 million and €5 million in variables.^[10]

International career

Molina playing for Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

On 3 June 2021, Molina debuted for the Argentina national team in a World Cup qualifier against Chile, coming as a substitute to Juan Foyth in the 81st minute.^[11]

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match against the Netherlands on 9 December 2022, Molina scored his first goal for Argentina, starting in six matches for Argentina as first choice right back scoring one goal and providing one assist throughout the tournament en route to become champions.^[12]

In June 2024, Molina was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa América.^[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 February 2025^[14]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Boca Juniors	2016–17	Argentine Primera División	8	0	—		1[b]	0	—		9	0
Defensa y Justicia (loan)	2017–18	Argentine Primera División	14	1	2	0	7[c]	0	—		23	1
	2018–19		3	0	—		—		—		3	0
	Total		17	1	2	0	7	0	0	0	26	1
Rosario Central (loan)	2018–19	Argentine Primera División	6	0	1	0	6[b]	0	—		13	0
	2019–20		16	1	2	0	—		—		18	1
	Total		22	1	3	0	6	0	0	0	31	1
Udinese	2020–21	Serie A	29	2	2	0	—		—		31	2
	2021–22		35	7	2	1	—		—		37	8
	Total		64	9	4	1	0	0	0	0	68	10
Atlético Madrid	2022–23	La Liga	33	4	4	0	6[d]	0	—		43	4
	2023–24		30	2	5	0	10[d]	0	1[e]	0	46	2
	2024–25		17	0	4	0	6[d]	1	0	0	27	1
	Total		80	6	13	0	22	1	1	0	116	7
Career total			191	17	22	1	36	1	1	0	250	19

1. Includes Copa Argentina, Coppa Italia, Copa del Rey
2. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
3. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance in Supercopa de España

International

As of match played 14 November 2024^[15]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	2021	13	0
	2022	14	1
	2023	8	0
	2024	13	0
Total		48	1

As of match played 14 November 2024. Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Molina goal.

List of international goals scored by Nahuel Molina

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	9 December 2022	Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, Qatar	25	Netherlands	1–0	2–2 (4–3 p)	2022 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Argentina

• FIFA World Cup: 2022^[16]
• Copa América: 2021,^[17] 2024^[18]
• CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions: 2022^[19]

References

1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: Argentina (ARG)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 1. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
2. "Nahuel Molina". Atlético Madrid. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
3. "FC Barcelona Juniors Luján". FC Barcelona archive. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
4. "Los inicios culés de Nahuel Molina detallados por su descubridor". Sport España (in Spanish). 3 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
5. "San Martín San Juan vs. Boca Junior". Soccerway. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
6. https://historiadeboca.com.ar/jugadores/nahuel-molina-lucero/1203/1905/2018/1.html Historia de Boca.com.ar Nahuel Molina Lucero
7. "Molina deja Boca por Defensa y Justicia". BeSoccer (in Spanish). 11 January 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
8. "Official: Molina joins Udinese". Football Italia. 15 September 2020.
9. "Welcome, Nahuel Molina!". Atlético Madrid. 28 July 2022.
10. Egea, Pablo (28 July 2022). "Nahuel Molina es nuevo jugador del Atlético" [Nahuel Molina is a new Atletico player]. Marca (in Spanish).
11. "La historia de Nahuel Molina Lucero: de quedar libre en Boca a la Selección Argentina". TyC Sports (in Spanish). 14 October 2021.
12. McNulty, Phil (9 December 2022). "World Cup 2022: Argentina beat the Netherlands in penalty shootout to reach semi-finals". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
13. "Lionel Scaloni dio a conocer la lista de la Selección argentina para la Copa América 2024". Todo Noticias. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
14. "N. Molina". Soccerway.
15. "Nahuel Molina". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
16. Murray, Scott (18 December 2022). "Argentina beat France on penalties after thrilling World Cup final – live reaction". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
17. Graham, Bryan Armen (11 July 2021). "Argentina 1-0 Brazil: Copa América final – live!". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
18. "Argentina defeats Colombia to Become The Champion of CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™". Copa América. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
19. "Italy 0–3 Argentina: Messi and Di Maria shine in impressive Finalissima win". BBC Sport. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

External links

• Profile at the Atlético Madrid website
• Nahuel Molina – UEFA competition record (archive)