Talal Haji

Talal Haji
Personal information
Full name Talal Abubakr Abdullah Haji[1]
Date of birth (2007-09-16) 16 September 2007 (age 17)
Place of birth Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Al-Ittihad
Number 90
Youth career
Al-Ittihad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023– Al-Ittihad 9 (2)
International career‡
2022– Saudi Arabia U17 13 (13)
2023– Saudi Arabia U23
2024– Saudi Arabia 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 January 2024

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

Early life

Haji was born in Jeddah to Somali parents.

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. He thus 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]

In January 2024, following the suspension of three players in the Saudi Arabia national team due to disciplinary reasons, Haji was additionally added to the squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, thus became the youngest player in the history to feature in the competition at 16 years old and 118 days.[7] He made his international debut on 25 January 2024 in the group stage game against Thailand. He became the youngest player to appear in the AFC Asian Cup history at the age of 16 years 4 months and 9 days.

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 September 2023.[8]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Ittihad 2023–24 Saudi Pro League 9 2 1[a] 0 1 0 0 0 11 2
Career total 9 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 11 2
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. Archived from the original on 27 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). Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. 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. Archived from the original on 27 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. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. 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. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  7. ^ "— المدير الفني روبرتو مانشيني يضم الثلاثي " محمد البريك ، طلال حاجي ، محمد اليامي " لقائمة الأخضر النهائية لكأس آسيا 2023" [Roberto Mancini includes the trio “Mohamed Al-Breik, Talal Haji, and Mohamed Al-Yami” in the final Green List for the 2023 Asian Cup]. Twitter (in Arabic). Saudi Arabia Football Federation. 13 January 2024. Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  8. ^ Talal Haji at Soccerway