# 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 for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, whom he captains, and the Saudi Arabia national team.

## Early and personal life

Al-Dawsari was born in Jeddah and joined Al Hilal's youth academy at the age of 14. His family's support and enthusiasm for football played a crucial role in nurturing his interest in the sport.
He is not related to both Khalifah Al-Dawsari and Nasser Al-Dawsari, teammates of his for both club and country.

## 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, he has spent his entire career at Al Hilal.
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.
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.
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.

## 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 In May 2018, he was named in Saudi Arabia's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. 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.
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 historic shock victory for the Saudi Arabia national team. On 30 November, he scored a goal against Mexico, in which he equaled 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.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 15 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | King's Cup | King's Cup | Crown Prince Cup | Crown Prince Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | 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 |
| Al Hilal | 2012–13 | Saudi Pro League | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 29 | 5 |
| Al Hilal | 2013–14 | Saudi Pro League | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 36 | 7 |
| Al Hilal | 2014–15 | Saudi Pro League | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 4 |
| Al Hilal | 2015–16 | Saudi Pro League | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 4 |
| Al Hilal | 2016–17 | Saudi Pro League | 17 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 5 |
| Al Hilal | 2017–18 | Saudi Pro League | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 4 |
| Al Hilal | 2018–19 | Saudi Pro League | 23 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 37 | 5 |
| Al Hilal | 2019–20 | Saudi Pro League | 20 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 12 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 9 |
| Al Hilal | 2020–21 | Saudi Pro League | 24 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 8 |
| Al Hilal | 2021–22 | Saudi Pro League | 22 | 9 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 18 |
| Al Hilal | 2022–23 | Saudi Pro League | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 8 |
| Al Hilal | 2023–24 | Saudi Pro League | 27 | 14 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 48 | 24 |
| Al Hilal | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 24 | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 16 |
| Al Hilal | Total | Total | 268 | 72 | 30 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 103 | 31 | 34 | 9 | 452 | 121 |
| Villarreal (loan) | 2017–18 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 269 | 72 | 30 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 103 | 31 | 34 | 9 | 453 | 121 |
* 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in Saudi Super Cup
* ↑ Nine appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup, one appearance in Saudi Super Cup, one appearance in Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup
* ↑ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
* ↑ Three appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup, one appearance and one goal in Saudi Super Cup
* ↑ Three appearances and two goals in FIFA Club World Cup, one appearance in Saudi Super Cup
* ↑ Six appearances and two goals in Arab Club Champions Cup, two appearances and two goals in Saudi Super Cup

### International

    As of match played 31 December 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Saudi Arabia | 2012 | 2 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2013 | 7 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2014 | 9 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2015 | 4 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2016 | 0 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2017 | 5 | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2018 | 14 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2019 | 9 | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2020 | 1 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2021 | 8 | 4 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2022 | 13 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2023 | 6 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2024 | 16 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 94 | 24 |
    Saudi Arabia's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Al-Dawsari goal.
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 | Friendly |
| 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 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 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 | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Yemen | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15. | 11 June 2021 | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Singapore | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 16. | 2 September 2021 | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 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 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18. | 22 November 2022 | Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, Qatar | Argentina | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 19. | 30 November 2022 | Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail, Qatar | Mexico | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup |
| 20. | 24 March 2023 | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Venezuela | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 21. | 28 March 2023 | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Bolivia | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 22. | 17 October 2023 | Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Portimão, Portugal | Mali | 1–2 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 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 |

## Honours

Al-Hilal
* Saudi Pro League: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 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, 2024
* AFC Champions League: 2019, 2021
Individual
* IFFHS AFC Man Team of the Year: 2020
* IFFHS AFC Men's Team of the Decade 2011–2020
* AFC Champions League MVP: 2021
* Saudi Professional League Player of the Month: January 2023
* AFC Player of the Year: 2022