• North joins South in 2010 finals

  Iran Football Online - Found Jun. 22, 2009 But action once again swung back to the other end of the pitch as this time Yasser Al Qahtani found himself free inside the area but saw his...

• KSA 0-0 PRK - North joins South in 2010 finals at the expense of ...

  Iran Sports Press - Found Jun. 19, 2009 But action once again swung back to the other end of the pitch as this time Yasser Al Qahtani found himself free inside the area but saw his... Qotbi: Iran confident to beat S. Korea - Iran Sports Press 'Iran will repeat Melbourne victory in Seoul' - Iran Sports Press Tough job for Iran in Seoul - Iran Sports Press Taj criticizes AFC for choosing East Asian referees - Iran Sports Press Explore All

• KOR 0-0 KSA - Seoul stalemate bodes well for Saudis

  Iran Sports Press - Found Jun. 13, 2009 He almost rued that miss soon after as Yasser Al Qahtani turned Cho Yong-hyong on the corner of the box and while his shot beat Lee, it also...

• Qatar out of World Cup contention

  Al Jazeera - Found Jun. 10, 2009 Al Sharma and Yasser Al Qahtani went close for Saudi Arabia but the visitors' task became much harder 10 minutes from time when Ahmed Ateef... Saudi Arabia qualification still in balance - CNN Iran victory sets up tense Asian decider - Sydney Morning Herald Qatar out, Saudis stay in hunt - Shanghai Daily Karimi keeps Iran's World Cup dream alive - Times of India Explore All

• Qatar out of World Cup, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain still in doubt

  TSN - Found Jun. 11, 2009 Al Sharma and Yasser Al Qahtani went close for Saudi Arabia but the visitors' task became much harder 10 minutes from time when Ahmed Ateef... Kingdom a win away from World Cup finals - Arab News Qatar out, Saudi, Bahrain and Iran in WCup doubt - Araboo.com Qatar out, Saudi, Bahrain still in World Cup doubt - Nigeria Guardian Qatar out, Saudi, Bahrain still in WCup doubt - Araboo.com Explore All

• Saudis draw in Seoul

  DAWN Group - Found Jun. 11, 2009 Al Sharma and Yasser Al Qahtani went close for Saudi Arabia but the visitors' task became much harder 10 minutes from time when Ahmed Ateef... Saudis draw, Iran wins in WC Asian qualifying - People's Daily Online Saudi Arabia keep World Cup hopes alive with goalless draw - Gulf News Explore All

• All Whites Middle East task 'very difficult'

  Dominion Post - Found Jun. 20, 2009 ... first tournament in 1994. The Saudis three-times winners of the Asian Cup crown boast Asia's 2007 footballer of the year in Yasser Al Qahtani.

• All Whites Middle East task 'very difficult'

  stuff.co.nz - Found Jun. 19, 2009 ... first tournament in 1994. The Saudis three-times winners of the Asian Cup crown boast Asia's 2007 footballer of the year in Yasser Al Qahtani.

• AFC Champions League West Preview

  ESPN Star - Found May. 25, 2009 Tuesday, May 26: Al Hilal (KSA) v Umm Salal (QAT) Star striker Yasser Al Qahtani, the 2007 AFC Player of the Year, could make a return for Al...

• Saudi Arabia thump China

  The World Game - Found Jun. 4, 2009 ... for the clash and they made a great start as Yasser Al Qahtani opened the scoring after seven minutes, heading home Nasser Al Shamrani's cross.

Yasser Al-Qahtani (Arabic: ياسر القحطاني ‎) (born October 10, 1982) is a Saudi Arabian professional football player, nicknamed "The Sniper" and "Robin Hood". He is the captain of the Saudi Arabia national football team and currently plays for Al-Hilal.

In 2005, he moved from Al-Qadisiya club to Al-Hilal for a record 30 million SR ( 8.1 million USD).

International career

He played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup where he scored a goal against Tunisia, which marked his great movement and composure in front of the goal. He also played in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup where he was named the top goalscorer of the competition. Apart from this, he was the youngest Saudi captain ever, leading the national team to the final.

Al-Qahtani is Ranked 900 in The World's Top Goal Scorers 2007 by International Federation of Football History & Statistics.

Professional career

Al-Qahtani began his journey at Al-Qadisiya, where he gained fame for his scoring abilities and skill on the ball. However, his relationship club officials was strained after the club refused to let the player move to Al-Hilal, a move that Yasser was keen to complete. Despite numerous threats to take the club to court inorder to force the transfer, Yasser and his solicitors eventually forced a move to Al-Hilal instead. For a record price of US $5.33 million, which is still a record in the league. After moving to Hilal, he scored many amazing goals; one memorable one was against Valencia CF, with Al-Hilal winning the match. He is often praised for his intelligence and experience in goal finishing, being linked to many European clubs in the process. Recently, in a friendly match with Manchester United he scored a goal on Edwin van der Sar which gave his team the lead. Al-Hilal finished the match with a 3-2 victory. He has since remained loyal to his club.

In addition Yasser Al Qahtani was on trial at Manchester City. The 25-year-old striker arrived in Manchester on December 19th with Al Hilal president Prince Mohammed Bin Faisal, with Sven-Goran Eriksson and his City coaching staff preparing to take a closer look at the player. The only missing signature was the player's signature because of reservation on changing his current agent and individual commercial rights that Manchester City wanted to proclaim. Later on, the player stated that he would like to stay with his club at least until the end of the season.

National Team Career Statistics

Appearances in major competitions

• 2002 Arab Cup - Champions
• 2003 Gulf Cup of Nations - Champions
• 2004 AFC Asian Cup - Group Stages
• 2004 Gulf Cup of Nations - Group Stages
• 2005 Islamic Cup - Champions
• 2006 FIFA World Cup - Group Stages
• 2007 Gulf Cup of Nations - Semi-finals
• 2007 AFC Asian Cup - 2nd Place
• 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations - 2nd Place

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	December 26, 2002	Kuwait, Kuwait	Yemen	2-2	Draw	2002 Arab Cup Group Stages
2	December 26, 2002	Kuwait, Kuwait	Yemen	2-2	Draw	2002 Arab Cup Group Stages
3	October 8, 2003	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Bhutan	6-0	Won	2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
4	January 6, 2004	Kuwait, Kuwait	Oman	2-1	Won	2003 Gulf Cup of Nations
5	January 8, 2004	Kuwait, Kuwait	Yemen	2-0	Won	2003 Gulf Cup of Nations
6	January 8, 2004	Kuwait, Kuwait	Yemen	2-0	Won	2003 Gulf Cup of Nations
7	February 18, 2004	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Indonesia	3-0	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	July 18, 2004	Chengdu, China	Turkmenistan	2-2	Draw	2004 AFC Asian Cup Group Stages
9	July 18, 2004	Chengdu, China	Turkmenistan	2-2	Draw	2004 AFC Asian Cup Group Stages
10	September 1, 2004	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Kuwait	1-1	Draw	Friendly match
11	September 8, 2004	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan	1-0	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	October 12, 2004	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	3-1	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	December 5, 2004	Dammam, Saudi Arabia	Russia	1-0	Won	Friendly match
14	December 11, 2004	Doha, Qatar	Kuwait	1-2	Lost	2004 Gulf Cup of Nations Group Stages
15	April 13, 2005	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Algeria	5-0	Won	2005 Islamic Cup Group Stages
16	April 20, 2005	Mecca, Saudi Arabia	Morocco	1-0	Won	2005 Islamic Cup Final
17	May 25, 2005	Dammam, Saudi Arabia	Korea Republic	2-0	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
18	February 14, 2006	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Syria	1-1	Draw	Friendly match
19	June 14, 2006	Munich, Germany	Tunisia	2-2	Draw	2006 FIFA World Cup Group Stages
20	August 9, 2006	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Bahrain	1-0	Won	Friendly match
21	August 16, 2006	Calcutta, India	India	3-0	Won	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
22	August 16, 2006	Calcutta, India	India	3-0	Won	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
23	August 16, 2006	Calcutta, India	India	3-0	Won	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
24	October 11, 2006	Sapporo, Japan	Japan	1-3	Lost	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
25	January 8, 2007	Dammam, Saudi Arabia	Gambia	3-0	Won	Friendly match
26	January 8, 2007	Dammam, Saudi Arabia	Gambia	3-0	Won	Friendly match
27	January 18, 2007	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Bahrain	2-1	Won	2007 Gulf Cup of Nations Group Stages
28	January 18, 2007	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Bahrain	2-1	Won	2007 Gulf Cup of Nations Group Stages
29	January 24, 2007	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Iraq	1-0	Won	2007 Gulf Cup of Nations Group Stages
30	July 11, 2007	Jakarta, Indonesia	Korea Republic	1-1	Draw	2007 AFC Asian Cup Group Stages
31	July 14, 2007	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	2-1	Won	2007 AFC Asian Cup Group Stages
32	July 22, 2007	Jakarta, Indonesia	Uzbekistan	2-1	Won	2007 AFC Asian Cup Quarter-finals
33	July 25, 2007	Hanoi, Vietnam	Japan	3-2	Won	2007 AFC Asian Cup Semi-Final
34	September 11, 2007	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Ghana	5-0	Won	Friendly match
35	September 11, 2007	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Ghana	5-0	Won	Friendly match
36	November 9, 2007	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	Estonia	2-0	Won	Friendly match
37	November 25, 2007	Cairo, Egypt	Egypt	1-2	Lost	2007 Pan Arab Games
38	January 30, 2008	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Luxembourg	2-1	Won	Friendly match
39	February 6, 2008	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Singapore	2-0	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
40	June 2, 2008	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Lebanon	4-1	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
42	June 2, 2008	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Lebanon	4-1	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
43	January 8, 2009	Wattayah, Oman	Yemen	6-0	Won	2009 Gulf Cup of Nations Group Stages
44	January 11, 2009	Muscat, Oman	United Arab Emirates	3-0	Won	2009 Gulf Cup of Nations Group Stages
45	June 4, 2009	Tianjin, China	China PR	4-1	Won	Friendly match

Honours

• Named Asian Footballer of the Year in 2007.
• Top goalscorer of the AFC Asian Cup in 2007.

Yasser Al Qahtani Last Player Saudi in The Award about Best Player 2007 in Asia

Notes

References

• the official site for Yasser Al-Qahtani (Arabic)
• the official site for alhilal saudi club (Arabic,English)

External links

• Goals & Skills (Video)

Awards
Preceded by A'ala Hubail Ali Karimi	Asian Cup Top scorer 2007 Shared with Younis Mahmoud Naohiro Takahara	Succeeded by Incumbent

v • d • e Saudi Arabia squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Al‑Deayea • 2 Dokhi • 3 Tukar • 4 Al‑Montashari • 5 Al‑Qadi • 6 Al‑Ghamdi • 7 Ameen • 8 Noor • 9 Al‑Jaber • 10 Al‑Shalhoub • 11 Al‑Harthi • 12 Khathran • 13 Sulaimani • 14 Khariri • 15 Al‑Bahri • 16 Aziz • 17 Al‑Bishi • 18 Al‑Temyat • 19 Massad • 20 Al‑Qahtani • 21 Zaid • 22 Khouja • 23 Mouath • Coach: Paquetá

v • d • e Saudi Arabia squad – 2007 AFC Asian Cup Runners-up 1 Al Mosailem • 2 Hazzazi • 3 Hawsawi • 5 Al-Amri • 6 Al-Ghamdi • 7 K. Al-Mousa • 9 Mouath • 11 Al-Harthi • 12 Al-Khaibari • 13 Darwish • 14 Khariri • 15 Al-Bahri • 16 Aziz • 17 Al-Jassim • 18 A. Al-Qahtani • 19 Jahdali • 20 Y. Al-Qahtani • 21 Al-Qarni • 22 Abdullah • 23 Al-Shamrani • 25 Tukar • 28 Otaif • 30 A. Al-Mousa • Coach: Hélio