SPL Awards: Al Dawsari to shine among galaxy of stars at FIFA Club World Cup | OneFootball

Salem Al Dawsari knows a thing or two about resonating on the global stage.

The Al Hilal captain has, of course, long been a player of significant repute within the Asian game. He has twice stood tall at its summit, with the Riyadh powerhouse, as a two-time champion of the continent.

The second of those AFC Champions League successes, in 2021, paved the way for Al Dawsari to be coronated as the confederation’s Player of the Year in 2022.

Yet, for those a little farther away, or indeed anyone not accustomed to the thrills and spills of the Roshn Saudi League, Al Dawsari entered public consciousness not with his boyhood club, but with his country.

It was at the 2022 FIFA World Cup where the wily winger with a penchant for the spectacular etched his name in football folklore.

In Saudi Arabia’s Group C opener against Lionel Messi’s Argentina at a boisterous Lusail Stadium, Al Dawsari curled an incredible effort past Emiliano Martinez for his national team to register arguably the greatest shock in World Cup history. Argentina, remember, would go on to take the title in Qatar.

Turning around the tie and carrying Herve Renard’s enterprising side to a remarkable victory, the goal – and the cartwheel celebration – was beamed across the globe. The headlines quickly followed.

However, Al Dawsari has forever been comfortable when the lights shine brightest. He has spent almost his entire career at an expectant and demanding Al Hilal, save for an all-too-brief spell in La Liga with Villarreal.

As a pivotal player at Saudi Arabia’s most decorated club, the pressure to perform persistently pinches. As their captain since Salman Al Faraj’s departure last summer, the burden weighs that bit more.

That said, Al Dawsari has just delivered his most prolific season in the top flight. No one recorded more goal contributions than the Al Hilal No.29, his 30 - 15 goals, 15 assists - matched only by Al Ittihad’s title-winning captain Karim Benzema.

Indeed, no one provided more RSL assists through 2024-25.

As it so happens, no one has supplied more for teammates in the RSL, period: in mid-March, away to Al Taawoun, Al Dawsari whipped in a corner for Mohammed Kanno to power home to usurp Yahya Al Shehri in the league's all-time assist charts, with 54.

By the conclusion of the campaign, one in which Al Dawsari was last week voted the RSL’s Best Saudi, he had added another five. Undoubtedly, without his input, Al Hilal would not have finished runner-up, thus missing out on a place in next season’s AFC Champions League Elite.

More broadly, few excite like Al Dawsari. Even at 33, he retains the ability to get fans from their seats, injecting a frisson of energy throughout the stadium whenever the ball is at his feet.

Despite the creeping age, Al Dawsari is both electric and seemingly elastic, bursting past opponents or extricating himself from the tightest of spots. In an RSL now crammed full of compelling superstars, Al Dawsari stands among them, few his equal.

That’s why he won’t shirk the spotlight later this month on another global platform. Al Hilal take their place at the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, a massively expanded tournament to play out in the United States – one of the three hosts of next year’s 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On June 18, at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, the 2023-24 RSL champions open their Group H account against Real Madrid, footballing royalty and runaway record winners of the Club World Cup in its former guise.

Like Doha in late 2022, Al Dawsari will be intent on bloodying the nose of a sporting giant. Given what’s gone before this season – and although Al Hilal did not retain their RSL crown – he feels primed to have a major impact once more.

After all, Al Dawsari has history at the Club World Cup, too. In 2019, also in Qatar, he netted the opener in the semi-final against Brazilian heavyweights Flamengo, yet it wasn’t enough for his team to progress.

In 2022, he was one of six different scorers in the second-round encounter with UAE hosts Al Jazira. Again, Al Hilal could not advance to the final.

The following year in Morocco, though, Al Dawsari exacted revenge on Flamengo, striking twice in the memorable last-four clash to fire his side into the showpiece. It marked not only a first Club World Cup final for Al Dawsari and Al Hilal, but also for the Kingdom.

There, Ramon Diaz's men met Madrid. Ultimately, they were beaten 5-3, though Al Hilal did more than enough to exit the tournament with reputation enhanced. Al Dawsari would experience that sensation again before the year was out, with his now-famous winner against Argentina.

With a track record such as his, and a resume that includes six RSL titles, the sense is that Al Dawsari is built for the big occasion (think as well of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when he scored an injury-time winner against Egypt to give Saudi their first victory at football’s marquee event in 24 years).

Al Hilal will be hoping Al Dawsari can do similar in the US this month. Buoyed rather than burdened by the armband, they wish for another captain's contribution. The confidence looks well placed - for Al Dawsari appears in peak condition to remind the world he exists still as Saudi’s lead light.