Salem Al-Dawsari

Salem Mohammed Shafi Al-Dawsari (Arabic: سَالِم مُحَمَّد شَافِي الدَّوْسَرِيّ; born 19 August 1991) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a winger and captains for both Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal and the Saudi Arabia national team.

Salem Al-Dawsari

Al-Dawsari with Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Salem Mohammed Shafi Al-Dawsari[1]
Date of birth	(1991-08-19) 19 August 1991 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia[3]
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[4]
Position	Winger
Team information
Current team	Al Hilal
Number	29
Youth career
	Al Hilal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–	Al Hilal	283	(82)
2018	→ Villarreal (loan)	1	(0)
International career‡
2021	Saudi Arabia Olympic (O.P.)	5	(2)
2012–	Saudi Arabia	107	(26)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Saudi Arabia Gulf Cup Runner-up 2014 Saudi Arabia Runner-up 2019 Qatar 2024-25 Kuwait Arab Cup 2025 Qatar
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:16, 22 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11:56, 19 December 2025 (UTC)

Early and personal life

Al-Dawsari was born in Jeddah and joined Al Hilal's youth academy at the age of 14.

Club career

Al-Dawsari made his debut for Al Hilal in 2010, at the age of 19. Apart from one year on loan at Villarreal as part of a deal between the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and La Liga,^[5] he has spent his entire career at Al Hilal.

Al-Dawsari (left) and Chelsea's César Azpilicueta clashing during the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup

Al-Dawsari made one league appearance for Villarreal, coming on as a substitute against Real Madrid as the Yellow Submarine came from behind to draw 2–2.^[6]

In the second leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League final on 24 November, Al-Dawsari scored the opening goal in an eventual 2–0 away win over Urawa Red Diamonds, which saw Al-Hilal win the title following a 3–0 aggregate victory; the title allowed them to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.^[7]

On 7 February 2023, Al-Dawsari scored two penalties against Brazilian club Flamengo in the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup. Al Hilal won 3–2, becoming the first Saudi Arabian club to reach the final of the Club World Cup.^[8]

On 27 June 2025, Al-Dawsari scored in a 2–0 win over Mexican club Pachuca in the final group stage match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the top Asian goalscorer in the history of the Club World Cup with 5 goals, surpassing Tsukasa Shiotani (4).^[9] In October that year, he achieved his second AFC Player of the Year award, becoming the first Saudi player to achieve this feat.^[10]

International career

Al-Dawsari was called up to the Saudi Arabia national team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and scored his first international goal in an away match against Australia in 2014^[11] In May 2018, he was named in Saudi Arabia's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.^[12] On 25 June, Al-Dawsari scored a late winning goal as his side won 2–1 over Egypt in their last group stage match of the World Cup.^[13]

On 22 November 2022, Al-Dawsari scored his second goal at a FIFA World Cup, his first at the 2022 edition in Qatar in a match against Argentina. He made a run around the box before finishing past Emiliano Martínez to put Saudi Arabia ahead by a score of 2–1, which ended in a remarkable and historic victory for the Saudi Arabia national team.^[14] On 30 November, Al-Dawsari scored a goal against Mexico, in which he equalled the record of most goals scored by a Saudi player in World Cups, three goals by Sami Al-Jaber, as Saudi Arabia exited the World Cup with a 2–1 loss to Mexico.^[15]

On 8 October 2025, he made his 100th international appearance in a 3–2 win over Indonesia during the 2026 World Cup qualification fourth round.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 November 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			King's Cup		Crown Prince Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Al Hilal	2011–12	Saudi Pro League	13	2	4	1	4	0	7	1	—		28	4
	2012–13		18	3	1	0	2	0	8	2	—		29	5
	2013–14		21	4	3	0	4	1	8	2	—		36	7
	2014–15		18	3	2	1	3	0	10	0	—		33	4
	2015–16		14	3	2	0	2	0	11	1	0	0	29	4
	2016–17		17	2	4	2	2	0	5	1	1[a]	0	29	5
	2017–18		13	4	0	0	—		6	0	—		19	4
	2018–19		23	5	1	0	—		2	0	11[b]	0	37	5
	2019–20		20	4	3	1	—		12	3	3[c]	1	38	9
	2020–21		24	8	1	0	—		2	0	1[a]	0	28	8
	2021–22		22	9	2	2	–		8	5	4[d]	2	36	18
	2022–23		14	4	2	0	—		4	2	4[e]	2	24	8
	2023–24		27	14	3	0	—		10	6	8[f]	4	48	24
	2024–25		32	15	2	1	—		12	10	5[g]	1	51	27
	2025–26		7	2	2	0	—		3	1	—		12	3
	Total		283	82	32	8	17	1	108	34	37	10	477	135
Villarreal (loan)	2017–18	La Liga	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
Career total			284	82	32	8	17	1	108	34	37	10	478	135

1. Appearance(s) in Saudi Super Cup
2. Nine appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup, one appearance in Saudi Super Cup, one appearance in Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup
3. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
4. Three appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup, one appearance and one goal in Saudi Super Cup
5. Three appearances and two goals in FIFA Club World Cup, one appearance in Saudi Super Cup
6. Six appearances and two goals in Arab Club Champions Cup, two appearances and two goals in Saudi Super Cup
7. Two appearances in Saudi Super Cup, three appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup

International

As of match played 15 December 2025^[17][18]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Saudi Arabia	2012	2	1
	2013	7	0
	2014	9	1
	2015	4	0
	2016	0	0
	2017	5	2
	2018	14	3
	2019	9	4
	2020	1	1
	2021	8	4
	2022	13	3
	2023	6	3
	2024	16	2
	2025	13	2
Total		107	26

Saudi Arabia's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Al-Dawsari goal.^[17]

List of international goals scored by Salem Al-Dawsari

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	29 February 2012	Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia	Australia	1–0	2–4	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	23 November 2014	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	United Arab Emirates	3–2	3–2	2014 Arabian Gulf Cup
3.	8 June 2017	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia	Australia	1–1	2–3	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	7 October 2017	King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Jamaica	1–0	5–2	Friendly
5.	15 May 2018	La Cartuja, Seville, Spain	Greece	1–0	2–0
6.	25 June 2018	Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia	Egypt	2–1	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup
7.	10 September 2018	Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Bolivia	2–0	2–2	Friendly
8.	8 January 2019	Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	North Korea	3–0	4–0	2019 AFC Asian Cup
9.	5 September 2019	Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia	Mali	1–1	1–1	Friendly
10.	10 September 2019	Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain	Yemen	2–2	2–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.	14 November 2019	Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan	3–2	3–2
12.	14 November 2020	Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Jamaica	1–0	3–0	Friendly
13.	30 March 2021	King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Palestine	5–0	5–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.	5 June 2021		Yemen	1–0	3–0
15.	11 June 2021		Singapore	1–0	3–0
16.	2 September 2021		Vietnam	1–1	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
17.	29 March 2022	King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Australia	1–0	1–0
18.	22 November 2022	Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, Qatar	Argentina	2–1	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup
19.	30 November 2022		Mexico	1–2	1–2
20.	24 March 2023	Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Venezuela	1–2	1–2	Friendly
21.	28 March 2023		Bolivia	1–1	1–2
22.	17 October 2023	Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Portimão, Portugal	Mali	1–2	1–3
23.	21 March 2024	King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Tajikistan	1–0	1–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
24.	28 December 2024	Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait	Iraq	1–0	3–1	26th Arabian Gulf Cup
25.	20 March 2025	King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	China	1–0	1–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
26.	5 December 2025	Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar	Comoros	3–1	3–1	2025 FIFA Arab Cup

Honours

Al-Hilal

• Saudi Pro League: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20,^[19] 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
• King's Cup: 2015, 2017, 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24
• Saudi Crown Prince Cup: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16
• Saudi Super Cup: 2018, 2021, 2023,^[20] 2024^[21]
• AFC Champions League: 2019, 2021

Individual

• IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the Year: 2020,^[22] 2022,^[23] 2023^[24]
• IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the Decade: 2020^[25]
• AFC Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2021^[26]
• Saudi Pro League Player of the Month: January 2023
• Saudi Pro League Saudi Player of the Season: 2024–25^[27]
• AFC Player of the Year: 2022,^[28] 2025^[29]
• AFC Champions League Elite top scorer: 2024–25^[30]