In his international debut, a friendly with Jordan on 24 January 2008, Samer Saeed donned the number 8 jersey, a number Ahmad Abd Ali had seemingly made his own in Iraq's title-winning campaign at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. The game ended 1-1, with Saeed playing impressively in his creative role. Prior to this senior bow, the diminutive midfielder had figured prominently with the Iraqi Olympic side that won silver at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.