Talal Haji

Talal Abubakr A. Haji (Arabic: طلال أبوبكر حاجي; born 16 September 2007) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.

Talal Haji
Personal information
Full name Talal Abubakr A. Haji[1]
Date of birth (2007-09-16) 16 September 2007
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Al-Ittihad
Number 52
Youth career
Al-Ittihad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023– Al-Ittihad 1 (0)
International career‡
2022– Saudi Arabia U17 13 (13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2023

Club career

In September 2023, in the absence of first-choice striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, Haji was drafted in to the Al-Ittihad squad ahead of their Saudi Pro League fixture against Al-Okhdood, though he did not go on to feature in the match as he had not yet turned sixteen.[2][3] He made his debut on 21 September, coming on as a late substitute for Romarinho in a 2–1 win against Al Fateh. By doing so he became the youngest player to feature in the Saudi Pro League at sixteen years and five days old – breaking the record previously held by Abbas Al-Hassan.[4]

International career

Haji was called up to the Saudi Arabia national under-17 football team for the 2022 Arab Cup U-17 in Algeria. Having scored hat-tricks in consecutive games against Lebanon and Iraq, Haji missed a penalty in the semi-final shoot-out, which Saudi Arabia lost 5–4 to eventual champions Algeria. For his goal-scoring exploits, including an additional group-stage goal against Syria, Haji was named as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals.[5]

He was called up to the squad again for the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup, and after failing to score in Saudi Arabia's opening group-stage game against Australia, he scored twice in the following game, a 2–0 win against Tajikistan, earning a Man of the Match award from the Asian Football Confederation.[6]

Career statistics

Club
As of 27 September 2023.[7]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Al-Ittihad 2023–24 Saudi Pro League 101[lower-alpha 1]0000020
Career total 1010000020
Notes
  1. Appearances in the King Cup

References
  1. Talal Haji at WorldFootball.net
  2. "من هو طلال حجي مهاجم الاتحاد أصغر لاعب في تاريخ الدوري السعودي؟" [Who is Talal Hajji, Al-Ittihad striker, the youngest player in the history of the Saudi League?]. reyadawefan.com (in Arabic). 11 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  3. "جماهير الإتي: الاحتفاظ بهذا اللاعب خير من ألف صفقة.. مهاجم" [Al-Ittihad fans: Keeping this player is better than a thousand deals]. saudiigate.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  4. "في عمر 16 عاما.. لاعب اتحاد جدة يدخل تاريخ الدوري السعودي" [At the age of 16, the Jeddah Football Association player enters the history of the Saudi League]. cairo24.com (in Arabic). 21 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  5. "طلال حاجي لاعب الأخضر ينفرد بصدارة هدافي العرب" [Talal Haji, the Al-Akhdar player, is the only top scorer for the Arabs]. al-madina.com (in Arabic). 6 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  6. "الآسيوي يرشح حاجي ضمن أفضل الواعدين" [The Asian nominates Haji among the most promising]. albiladdaily.com (in Arabic). 22 June 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  7. Talal Haji at Soccerway
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.