Yasser Saeed Al-Qahtani (born 10 October 1982) is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played as a forward for Al-Hilal FC in the Saudi Professional League. He was also captain of the Saudi Arabia national team.

Club career

In 2005, Al-Qahtani moved to Al-Hilal from Al-Qadisiyah for a reported £2.5 million transfer fee. After leading Saudi Arabia to the finals of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup as one of the tournament's top scorers, Al-Qahtani won the Asian Footballer of the Year award. He went on trial at Manchester City in December. In 2011, struggling for form following injuries and having lost his place in the Al-Hilal starting lineup, Al-Qahtani joined United Arab Emirates club Al Ain on a season-long loan. There he contributed to the club's first league title since 2004, scoring 7 goals in 15 league appearances, and 12 goals in a total of 26 games across all competitions. Having regained his form, he returned to Al-Hilal after the loan spell ended. Coached by Sami Al-Jaber and Laurențiu Reghecampf, Al-Qahtani reached the finals of the 2014 AFC Champions League with Al-Hilal where his team finished runners up losing to Western Sydney Wanderers in the final 1–0 on aggregate.

International career

2006 World Cup

Al-Qahtani played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany where he scored a goal against Tunisia.

2007 Asian Cup

At the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia reached the final under new Brazilian coach dos Anjos with Al-Qahtani becoming the tournament's top scorer.

2010 World Cup qualification campaign

In the final stages of the 2010 World Cup qualification, Al-Qahtani was injured in the game against Uzbekistan and upon his return from injury remained out form due to lack of playing time at Al-Hilal. Saudi Arabia missed qualification to the World Cup failing to beat North Korea at home in Riyadh in the decisive last game with the match ending goalless.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

Honours

Club

International

Individual