Mohammed Al-Sahlawi Top Scorer

Lore & Background

Al-Sahlawi began his career at Al-Qadsiah, where he broke into the first team in the 2006–07 season. He was loaned to Al-Fateh, scoring one goal in five matches, before returning to Al-Qadsiah and finishing as the top goalscorer in the Saudi First Division in 2008. He moved to Al-Nassr in 2009 for SR32 million, a major deal but not the largest in Saudi football history—Yasser Al-Qahtani's transfer to Al-Hilal in 2005 was for SR35 million, and other larger deals existed. In his first season with Al-Nassr, he scored 21 goals in 36 matches, though he did not receive the STC Young Player of the Year award. He later played for Al-Shabab, Muaither, and Al-Hazem.

Reader's Guide

Al-Sahlawi is a striker. He scored his first senior hat-trick on 3 September 2015 in a 7–0 defeat of Timor-Leste in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier, and scored five goals on 17 November 2015 in a 10–0 drubbing of Timor-Leste. He was named in Saudi Arabia's final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 4 June 2018.

Did You Know?

• Al-Sahlawi scored his first senior goal for the national team in 2012, against Thailand in a World Cup qualifier.
• He was selected as one of the world's best top goalscorers by the IFFHS in 2015.