In a night of glory for Saudi football, Salem Al-Dawsari the shining star of Al Hilal and the Saudi national team was crowned AFC Player of the Year 2025 during a grand ceremony held at the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh. 🏆🇸🇦
This marks the second time Al-Dawsari has won this award, after his first triumph in 2022. With this achievement, he becomes the first Saudi player ever to win the title twice, and only the fourth player in Asian football history to do so joining Qatar’s Akram Afif (2019 & 2023), Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata (1997 & 1998), and Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov (2008 & 2011). 🌟
Al-Dawsari’s outstanding performances played a major role in leading the Saudi national team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the seventh in the country’s history and the third consecutive appearance for the Green Falcons. He outshined both Akram Afif (Al Sadd, Qatar) and Arif Aiman Hanapi (Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia) to claim the award. ⚽🔥
The Saudi team topped Group B in the Asian World Cup playoff stage after defeating Indonesia 3-2 and drawing goalless with Iraq, securing the eighth and final Asian ticket to the 2026 tournament.
Meanwhile, the UAE and Iraq national teams are preparing for a decisive playoff to determine which side will represent Asia in the intercontinental play-off scheduled for March 2026 — alongside teams from Africa, South America, Oceania, and North Amer
ica. 🌍⚽
