Edmond Tapsoba

Edmond Tapsoba
Tapsoba with Bayer Leverkusen in 2022
Personal information
Full name Edmond Fayçal Tapsoba
Date of birth (1999-02-02) 2 February 1999 (age 27)
Place of birth Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Bayer Leverkusen
Number 12
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Salitas
2015–2017 US Ouagadougou
2017–2018 Leixões 0 (0)
2018–2020 Vitória de Guimarães B 30 (7)
2019–2020 Vitória de Guimarães 16 (4)
2020– Bayer Leverkusen 194 (8)
International career‡
2016– Burkina Faso 67 (4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:30, 25 October 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:01, 28 September 2026 (UTC)

Edmond Fayçal Tapsoba (born 2 February 1999) is a Burkinabé professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, which he captains, and the Burkina Faso national team.

Early and personal life

Tapsoba grew up in the Karpala section of Ouagadougou where he played football in the streets, but he never played organized football until the age of fourteen. As a child, he would often skip school to play football. He is represented by former Portugal international Deco. Tapsoba can speak some English, as well as French. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he donated masks, gloves, and hand sanitiser to a market in Ouagadougou.

Club career

Early career

Tapsoba previously played for Salitas, US Ouagadougou, Leixões, Vitória de Guimarães B, and Vitória de Guimarães.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 31 January 2020, Tapsoba agreed to a five-and-a-half-year contract with German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of €18 million plus €7 million for additional objectives. On 21 February 2021, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayer Leverkusen in the final seconds of stoppage time in a match against FC Augsburg, equalising for his side and extending Leverkusen's unbeaten streak against Augsburg to twenty matches.

Tapsoba was a member of the Leverkusen side that won the 2023–24 Bundesliga title undefeated.

Ahead of the 2026–27 season, Leverkusen head coach Carles Martínez Novell named Tapsoba as the club's new captain, succeeding Robert Andrich.

International career

Tapsoba made his senior international debut for Burkina Faso in 2016.

In December 2021, he was selected to represent his country at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Burkina Faso would reach the semi-finals of the tournament and Tapsoba was named in the best eleven along with teammate Blati Touré.

On 20 December 2023, Tapsoba was included in the final 27-man squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Tapsoba also represented Burkina Faso at the 2025 AFCON, scoring his first AFCON goal on 24 December 2025 against Equatorial Guinea in his 27th appearance in the competition.

Style of play

Tapsoba has been compared to former Bayern and Germany centre-back Jérôme Boateng for his speed, strength, passing ability, and composure. He is also known for his ability to score goals, especially from the penalty spot. He cites players such as John Stones, Per Mertesacker, and Virgil van Dijk as inspirations.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 October 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vitória de Guimarães B 2018–19 LigaPro 307————307
Vitória de Guimarães 2019–20 Primeira Liga 1641041113—328
Bayer Leverkusen 2019–20 Bundesliga 14030—50—220
2020–21 Bundesliga 31131—50—392
2021–22 Bundesliga 22110—60—291
2022–23 Bundesliga 33110—131—472
2023–24 Bundesliga 28061—122—463
2024–25 Bundesliga 29040—9010430
2025–26 Bundesliga 29540—100—435
2026–27 Bundesliga 7010—30—110
Total 1948222—6331028013
Career total 24019232417461032428
  1. ↑ Includes Taça de Portugal, DFB-Pokal
  2. ↑ Includes Taça da Liga
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ↑ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. ↑ Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International

As of match played 28 September 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Burkina Faso 201610
201720
201800
201950
202040
202170
2022141
202350
2024130
2025103
202660
Total674
Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tapsoba goal.
List of international goals scored by Edmond Tapsoba
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
119 November 2022Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh, Morocco Ivory Coast2–12–1Friendly
25 September 2025Estádio 24 de Setembro, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Djibouti3–06–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
34–0
424 December 2025Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco Equatorial Guinea2–12–12025 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Bayer Leverkusen

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Edmond Tapsoba". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Profile". Bayer 04 Leverkusen (in German). Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 Fifield, Raphael Honigstein and Dominic. "Meet Edmond Tapsoba, the Bundesliga's new sensation". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba: "I never expected to establish myself so quickly"". bundesliga.com – the official Bundesliga website. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "BAYER 04 SIGN CENTRAL DEFENDER TAPSOBA – RETSOS ON LOAN AT SHEFFIELD UNITED". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "FC Augsburg - Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Season 2020/2021 | Bundesliga". 21 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Bayer Leverkusen are 2023/24 Bundesliga champions!". Bundesliga. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "Mit neuem Kapitän Edmond Tapsoba in die Saison 2026/27" (in German). Bayer 04 Leverkusen. 21 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Cameroun 2021". Facebook. Fédération Burkinabè de Football. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  10. 1 2 @CAF_Online (7 February 2022). "Not your average players Here is the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 best XI #AFCON2021" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 February 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ↑ "#CAN2023 : Vélud dévoile ses 27 commandos" (in French). Burkinabé Football Federation. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023 – via Facebook.
  12. ↑ Obissa Juste Mien (20 December 2023). "CAN Côte d'Ivoire 2023 : « Je connais les joueurs que j'ai retenus par cœur », déclare Hubert Vélud" (in French). leFaso.net. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Afcon 2025: Burkina Faso 2-1 Equatorial Guinea - Stallions claim late win". BBC Sport.
  14. ↑ "Edmond Tapsoba: Who is Bayer Leverkusen's new centre-back that stopped Erling Haaland?". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "Edmond Tapsoba: Summary". Soccerway. Sportsight. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "DFB Cup 2023/2024 final 1. FC Kaiserslautern vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen". DFB. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Bayer Leverkusen battle back to beat VfB Stuttgart on penalties in Supercup". Bundesliga. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.