837f6a4c72e13f261873cbd8773dc4f20e90c8ac.txt Salman Al-Faraj

Salman Al-Faraj

Salman Al-Faraj
Salman with Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Salman Mohammed
Mohammed Al-Faraj [1]
Date of birth (1989-08-01) 1 August 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Medina, Saudi Arabia[2]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Neom
Number 7
Youth career
2004–2008 Al Hilal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2024 Al Hilal 242 (17)
2024– Neom 0 (0)
International career‡
2011–2012 Saudi Arabia U23 2 (1)
2021 Saudi Arabia Olympic (wild-card) 3 (0)
2012– Saudi Arabia 73 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:59, 27 May 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:33, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Salman Mohammed Mohammed Al-Faraj (Arabic: سلمان محمد محمد الفرج; born 1 August 1989) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi First Division League club Neom and captains the Saudi Arabia national team.

Club career

Al Hilal

Al-Faraj was a one-club man of Al Hilal.

Neom

On July 28, 2024, Al-Faraj completed his transfer to Neom, a team in the Saudi First Division League.[4]

International career

Al-Faraj's first match with his national team was against Congo in an international friendly at Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium in al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia on 14 October 2012. The match ended in a 3–2 win.[5] In December 2014, he was named in the Saudi squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.[6]

Salman's first goal with his national team was against Timor-Leste during the second round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers at King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 3 September 2015. The match ended in a 7–0 win.[7]

In May 2018, he was named in Saudi Arabia's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[8] On 4 June, Salman was included in 23-man squad for the World Cup.[9] On 25 June, Salman scored the equalizing goal and his first ever World Cup goal from the penalty kick in a 2–1 victory over Egypt in their last group stage match of the tournament; it was Saudi Arabia's lone win in the tournament as the team crashed out of the group stage.[10]

In June 2021, he assumed the role of captain for the national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[11] Subsequently, in November 2022, he earned a spot in the 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[12] However, under the coaching of Roberto Mancini, Al-Faraj was excluded from the squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, reportedly due to off-field issues and frictions.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 May 2024[14]
Club Season League King Cup Crown Prince Cup Asia Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Hilal 2008–09 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 0
2009–10 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 — 4 0
2010–11 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 11 0
2011–12 15 1 2 0 3 0 6 0 — 26 1
2012–13 22 3 2 0 3 0 9 1 — 36 4
2013–14 22 0 3 0 2 0 6 0 — 33 0
2014–15 20 2 5 1 4 2 13 1 — 42 6
2015–16 19 2 4 0 4 1 8 0 1[a] 0 36 3
2016–17 17 2 2 0 3 0 8 0 1[a] 0 31 2
2017–18 17 3 0 0 — 7 0 — 24 3
2018–19 8 2 0 0 — 0 0 2[b] 0 10 2
2019–20 19 2 3 0 — 9 0 0 0 31 2
2020–21 17 0 1 0 — 0 0 1[a] 0 19 0
2021–22 22 0 4 1 — 10 1 1[c] 1[a] 0 38 2
2022–23 8 0 2 0 — 4 0 — 14 0
2023–24 21 0 2 0 — 8 0 — 31 0
Total 242 17 33 2 19 3 90 3 7 0 391 25
Career totals 242 17 33 2 19 3 90 3 7 0 391 25
  1. ^ a b c d Appearances in Saudi Super Cup
  2. ^ One appearance in Arab Club Champions Cup, and one appearance in Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 17 October 2023.[15][16]
Saudi Arabia
Year Apps Goals
2012 2 0
2013 3 0
2014 7 0
2015 10 1
2016 8 0
2017 8 1
2018 11 2
2019 7 2
2020 0 0
2021 9 2
2022 6 0
2023 2 1
Total 73 9

International goals

Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first.[15]
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 3 September 2015 King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  East Timor 4–0 7–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 7 October 2017  Jamaica 3–1 5–2 Friendly
3. 9 May 2018 Estadio Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain  Algeria 1–0 2–0
4. 25 June 2018 Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia  Egypt 1–1 2–1 2018 FIFA World Cup
5. 14 November 2019 Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Uzbekistan 1–1 3–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
6. 2–2
7. 15 June 2021 King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1–0 3–0
8. 2–0
9. 13 October 2023 Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Portimão, Portugal  Nigeria 1–0 2–2 Friendly

Honours

Al-Hilal

References

  1. ^ "Saudi Team". www.ksa-team.com.
  2. ^ "سلمان الفرج "ضابط إيقاع الأخضر".. توقّـع له كوزميــن الاحتــراف فـــي أوروبا".
  3. ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  4. ^ سبق (28 July 2024). "رسميًا .. نيوم يتعاقد مع سلمان الفرج". صحيفة سبق الالكترونية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Saudi Arabia vs Congo". ksa-team.com. Saudi Team Website. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Olaroiu Selects Saudi AFC Asian Cup Side". Boxscorenews.com. 24 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Saudi Arabia vs Timor-Leste". ksa-team.com. Saudi Team Website. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  8. ^ "World Cup 2018: All the confirmed squads for this summer's finals in Russia". bbc.com. BBC Sport. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  9. ^ "World Cup 2018: Saudi Arabia name all-domestic 23-man squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Salem al-Dawsari snatches win for Saudi Arabia against Egypt". The Guardian. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  11. ^ "الشهري يستدعي 24 لاعباً لمعسكر الأخضر الأولمبي للإعداد للأولمبياد".
  12. ^ "Renard announces the national team list for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar". Saudi Arabian Football Federation. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Mancini in spotlight as off-field issues dampen Saudi Arabia's Asian Cup bid". The Guardian. 17 January 2024.
  14. ^ "SALMAN AL FARAJ".
  15. ^ a b Salman Al-Faraj at National-Football-Teams.com
  16. ^ "( Salman ALFARAJ ) Matches Played".
  17. ^ "Al Hilal thrash Al Ittihad to win Saudi Super Cup". ESPN. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.


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